[HPforGrownups] Teeth was Re: teachers' personal lives

[Shelley Gardner]

No: HPFGUIDX 190292


> Lynda responded:
>> Answering again for myself, family members and others (it's good to share days off with friends and family, which we are doing!) The text says Hermione has buck teeth, which the spell took care of. That's not inconsistent. And why couldn't the spell straighten the teeth as it shrunk them? There's no problem there. We all think it would, in fact, straighten the teeth as it shrank them, realigning the teeth in her mouth. Just us, we know and we've had a lot of discussions about the inconsistencies in her books, especially in the last few months. This just doesn't bug us!
> Carol again:
>
> I'm afraid that we'll have to agree to disagree here. Madam Pomfrey is merely shortening the two front teeth enlarged by the spell. Hermione has her continue shortening them past the point where they originally were. That process would not, in itself, straighten even the front teeth, much less the other teeth, which were not affected by the shortening spell. Nor would *shortening* any or all of the teeth affect the amount of room in her mouth.
>
> Carol, who had to have four bicuspids pulled to have enough room in her small mouth for all her teeth as a prelude to braces

Shelley now:
I have to agree with Carol! I have THREE kids in braces, and it's not 
just about the length of the tooth. Shrinking a tooth would not 
straighten the root of the tooth, which is the real problem with buck 
teeth- the tooth is angled wrong in the mouth. You have to first 
straighten the tooth, and then allow the root of the tooth to straighten 
too. Two of my kids are at the point where they keep checking x-rays to 
see if the roots are now pointed in the right direction. My son in 
particular looked from the outside to have straight teeth, but won't get 
his braces off until the roots are in full alignment, and it's been 6 
months longer treatment than we had originally planned for.

And, even if there is now room for the rest of her teeth, it was only 
one month since the fronts were shrunk. Not enough time for the rest to 
adjust to the new room and move over. It's taken 3-4 months with wires 
and rubber bands to pull both of my daughter's teeth down and into place 
from the overcrowding, and then there will be more time needed to finish 
straightening them.

I still think Hermione needed to continue with orthodontics, even with 
shrunken front teeth and new room.

Shelley