Teeth, braces, and the English Language or variations thereof.

[June Ewing]

No: HPFGUIDX 190400

> Margaret Dean:
> Just as a matter of curiosity, when did the "invisible"/white
> braces come in? Given that the books are set in the 1990s.

> Bart:
> I'm not sure when the invisible braces came in, but behind the
teeth and overnight-only braces were certainly around back then;
I recall seeing the overnight-only braces being used as a plot
point in an early 1970's sitcom. Since it wasn't mentioned, I
believe that Hermione did not actually have the braces on when
her teeth were fixed (the growth would have broken pretty much
> any braces), so I suspect she was wearing overnight-only braces.


June:
I did some research and actually invisible braces and white braces
are two different animals. The invisible braces (Invisalign) are a
piece of plastic that you put in your mouth at night (much like the
plastic that comes with some tooth whitening kits). They were first
used in the year 2000 and are meant for people who need minor
straightening and would not have worked for Hermione any way. You
can actually see the white braces but not as well as those horrible
silver braces. What we are actually thinking about when we say
invisible braces is clear braces which you cannot see on the teeth
and they came in to existence in the 1980's so it is possible that
she had these or were preparing to have them.