Laurie's Braces - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

AB · 02-27-2007, 09:59 PM

When Laurie got braces on the show do you think this helped other teenagers
feel better about wearing braces? I think there was an article about it in a
magazine one time.

Ireneparalegal · 02-27-2007, 10:08 PM

Probably, but to be honest with you, it was so not factually correct, that it probably made teens pissed when they realized how it is to really have braces. I made a thread abt braces on sitcoms/dramas and how factually wong they are. I had braces when I was 13 til I was 17. They make it look like you go in one day to get braces. WRONG! It is a process of abt two weeks to three weeks. One needs to wear spacers before you get braces, otherwise, how would the orthodontist get the brackets on your teeth??? Stupid writers.

Also, the pain you have that day is bad, you don't want to talk, you certainly don't want to eat and the skin on the inside of your mouth is being cut up by the brackets/braces. This is the reason the orthodontist gives you wax to place on your braces til your mouth gets accustomed to the foreign material on your teeth. Of course, nowadays, there are different kinds of braces, like the ones that are placed/glued on the teeth, rather than brackets that actually go around your teeth.

AB · 02-27-2007, 11:23 PM

Wow, those braces from years ago sound like a real pain. Laurie made it look
like there was nothing much to it. I bet there were alot of unhappy kids like
you said.

Ireneparalegal · 02-28-2007, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annball1957

Wow, those braces from years ago sound like a real pain. Laurie made it look
like there was nothing much to it. I bet there were alot of unhappy kids like
you said.

Exactly. And the Brady Bunch episode when Marcia goes to the dentist and the same day comes home with braces makes me

because no one (in those days) got braces in one day. That episode really made me think how stupid those writers were because they gave the impression that you get them in one day and wear them for "a little while" as Carol stated to Mike. Bullsh*t!!!!!!!! If it was for a little while, then retainers would have been the solution, not braces. What tooth problem did Marcia have that she needed braces anyhow?

kooky12 · 11-14-2007, 02:16 PM

Maybe a more realistic scenario was when Lisa got braces on the Simpsons.

um · 06-01-2016, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

Probably, but to be honest with you, it was so not factually correct, that it probably made teens pissed when they realized how it is to really have braces. I made a thread abt braces on sitcoms/dramas and how factually wong they are. I had braces when I was 13 til I was 17. They make it look like you go in one day to get braces. WRONG! It is a process of abt two weeks to three weeks. One needs to wear spacers before you get braces, otherwise, how would the orthodontist get the brackets on your teeth??? Stupid writers.

Also, the pain you have that day is bad, you don't want to talk, you certainly don't want to eat and the skin on the inside of your mouth is being cut up by the brackets/braces. This is the reason the orthodontist gives you wax to place on your braces til your mouth gets accustomed to the foreign material on your teeth. Of course, nowadays, there are different kinds of braces, like the ones that are placed/glued on the teeth, rather than brackets that actually go around your teeth.

Wow ! Thanks for letting us all know about the realities.
It goes to show that common life in the 70s consisted of some very difficult things to deal with .
My best guess is that getting braces now-a-days isn't as bad since there must be medical technology that makes it less miserable. Of course I have not studied it so I don't know for sure.

When I first saw the "Lori's Braces" episode I thought that Lori was being a big cry baby about getting braces. I recall the scene in which the camera just suddenly showed Shirley in the same room with Lori and apparently Shirley had told Lori that she (Lori) would have to wear braces for 6 weeks (or that is what I best recall the amount of time was). And Lori just mournfully says "Six weeks?" and it just seemed as if she was told that she has 6 weeks to live.

I guess six weeks with braces would be a picnic compared to how long it really takes to wear braces so as to prevent your teeth for growing the wrong way.

TMC · 09-30-2024, 11:46 PM

I had to wear braces myself for about five and a half years (and then a retainer for about the next year or so), unlike the six weeks that Laurie had to endure. And like others said, they were painful on your gums. You get accustomed to them after a while, but I still had to get them tightened once a month.

I actually think that Susan Dey looks kind of cute with the braces:

I wonder if Susan was actually very sensitive and self-conscious about what people thought about her teeth because she did have a slight overbite, which I think is even mentioned in the "Days of Acne and Roses" episode from Season 2.

Lisalu · 10-17-2024, 07:36 PM

Funny how they recycled these plots between TPF and TBB - I don't know which episode came first, but Marcia got braces in one of the early seasons of Brady Bunch and it was pretty much the same story (she's self-conscious, refuses to eat or speak, thinks the boy won't like her anymore but he DOES, etc.)

And the other funny thing is that I grew up in the 1970s and always WISHED I had braces. (Alas, my teeth were perfectly straight.) In my world, the cool kids wore braces and that probably had something to do with the fact that they came from families who could afford them.

Just look at Laurie and Marcia, they were typical of the girls I knew who had braces back in the day. So of course I wanted them too!

02-27-2007, 09:59 PM	#1
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,426	Laurie's Braces When Laurie got braces on the show do you think this helped other teenagers feel better about wearing braces? I think there was an article about it in a magazine one time.

02-27-2007, 10:08 PM	#2
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,689	Probably, but to be honest with you, it was so not factually correct, that it probably made teens pissed when they realized how it is to really have braces. I made a thread abt braces on sitcoms/dramas and how factually wong they are. I had braces when I was 13 til I was 17. They make it look like you go in one day to get braces. WRONG! It is a process of abt two weeks to three weeks. One needs to wear spacers before you get braces, otherwise, how would the orthodontist get the brackets on your teeth??? Stupid writers. Also, the pain you have that day is bad, you don't want to talk, you certainly don't want to eat and the skin on the inside of your mouth is being cut up by the brackets/braces. This is the reason the orthodontist gives you wax to place on your braces til your mouth gets accustomed to the foreign material on your teeth. Of course, nowadays, there are different kinds of braces, like the ones that are placed/glued on the teeth, rather than brackets that actually go around your teeth.
	__________________ DALLAS COWBOYS ARE HERE AT TRAINING CAMP!!!

02-27-2007, 11:23 PM	#3
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,426	Wow, those braces from years ago sound like a real pain. Laurie made it look like there was nothing much to it. I bet there were alot of unhappy kids like you said.

11-14-2007, 02:16 PM	#5
kooky12 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 06, 2005 Posts: 2,022	Maybe a more realistic scenario was when Lisa got braces on the Simpsons.

09-30-2024, 11:46 PM	#7
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,453	I had to wear braces myself for about five and a half years (and then a retainer for about the next year or so), unlike the six weeks that Laurie had to endure. And like others said, they were painful on your gums. You get accustomed to them after a while, but I still had to get them tightened once a month. I actually think that Susan Dey looks kind of cute with the braces: I wonder if Susan was actually very sensitive and self-conscious about what people thought about her teeth because she did have a slight overbite, which I think is even mentioned in the "Days of Acne and Roses" episode from Season 2.

10-17-2024, 07:36 PM	#8
Lisalu Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 21, 2016 Posts: 36	Funny how they recycled these plots between TPF and TBB - I don't know which episode came first, but Marcia got braces in one of the early seasons of Brady Bunch and it was pretty much the same story (she's self-conscious, refuses to eat or speak, thinks the boy won't like her anymore but he DOES, etc.) And the other funny thing is that I grew up in the 1970s and always WISHED I had braces. (Alas, my teeth were perfectly straight.) In my world, the cool kids wore braces and that probably had something to do with the fact that they came from families who could afford them. Just look at Laurie and Marcia, they were typical of the girls I knew who had braces back in the day. So of course I wanted them too!