The Truth Fairy

My boyfriend recently proposed to me. I've gotten to thinking that if I'd never worn braces, he wouldn't have been interested in me. I had a terrible underbite. I always felt very unattractive in regard to my teeth, lip, and jaw region until I eventually had this corrected years ago through braces. I constantly have the nagging thought that my boyfriend could do better -- that is, find a woman who is more naturally beautiful, more on a par with his level of attractiveness. Basically, I feel that my braces led to a form of unnatural beauty, a kind of cheating, and I don't deserve him.

--Distressed

Though some men are put off by fake breasts, it's unlikely that anybody will find corrective dental work a vile form of deception, like you're the Bernie Madoff of the perfect smile. Research in "dental anthropology" (who knew?!) by Peter Ungar, Rachel Sarig, and others suggests the cause of your underbite could be genetic -- or it could be environmental (perhaps deficiencies in maternal nutrition during pregnancy). Sorry. I was hoping for something a little more definitive, too. Might you and your fiance have a kid with a funky bite? Sure. But unlike in ancestral human societies, we live in a world teeming with orthodontists. Just look for the "STR8TEETH" and "SMILEDOC" plates on cars that cost as much as a small, slightly used private jet. Allay your fears by being honest: Tell your fiance that you got braces to correct a really bad underbite. A dude who's attracted to the way you look now is unlikely to dump you upon learning about your supposedly sordid orthodontic history. Looks are vital for attraction, but they're just part of what matters. A massive cross-cultural survey by evolutionary psychologist David Buss finds that men, like women, prioritize kindness and intelligence in a partner. In fact, these are men's and women's top asks. And these are things that can't be engineered with $7K in oral railroad tracks and years spent covering your mouth when you laugh lest those tiny rubber bands shoot across the room and put out somebody's eye. ... For pages and pages of "science-help" from me, buy my latest book, "Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence." It lays out the PROCESS of transforming to live w/confidence.