Is a smile essential? part 2

Last post I ask how far you would go for a decent smile and why it is more acceptable to pursue a good smile over pursuing other corrective treatment for other parts of our body.

I have been trying to work out what the framework and principles that help guide decisions about cosmetic surgery. I found myself stumped when I was confronted to explain the difference between the dental implants I had to correct my smile and the surgery of a friend who got breast implants.

I often excuse my teeth based upon mechanical and health reasons. My brothers and I each have a lack of teeth due to a genetic condition which each one of us have now received cosmetic treatment for. I had missing lateral incisors, very pointy canines and remaining baby teeth. I didn't have a great smile and if I am honest with myself vanity was a major player in getting my teeth corrected. I really wanted to be able to smile confidently! To which most people tell me 'fair enough'.

So what do you say the the young woman who has a AA bra cup size and sees herself not as womanly but as girly? What do you answer her when she tells you she wants breast implants to feel and look like a woman, to fill out a bra and just look her age instead of a 12 year old girl when she stands in her bikini on the beach? Is she allowed to correct her breasts like we correct our teeth? Do you have double standards?

I feel it is far easier to excuse vanity when it comes to teeth. We too easily embrace the "Hollywood smile" as the norm and benchmark for our smiles. Braces and corrective dentistry is so very popular and very socially acceptable. In fact the majority of people today will experience some sort of corrective dentistry.