“I hate clothes. Okay I hate buying them. I hate picking them out of my closet. I can’t stand every day trying to come up with little outfits for myself. I think eventually fashion won’t even exist…it won’t. I think eventually we’ll all be wearing the same thing because anytime I see a movie or a TV show where there’s people from the future or another planet, they’re all wearing the same thing. Somehow they’ve decided this is going to be our outfit—one piece silver jumpsuit, V-stripe and boots. That’s it. We should come up with an outfit for Earth…an Earth outfit. We should vote on it…candidates propose different outfits…no speeches. They walk out. Twirl. Walk off. We just sit in the audience and go. That was nice. I can wear that.”
That was an old Jerry Seinfeld joke. He’s obviously exaggerating for comedic effect, but it got me thinking. When it comes to clothing, what’s the priority? Fashion or function?
Clothing has some obvious function. For example:
- Hiking boots for hiking
- Running shoes for running
- Hats for blocking the sun
- Winter coats for protecting against cold
- Sunglasses for protecting our eyes
- Prescription glasses for helping us see
Function obviously matters to some extent, but when I look around this world, it seems like fashion, not function, dominates our clothing decisions.
I think the same can be said of teeth.
Healthy teeth have some function too.
- They aid in chewing
- They aid in speech
- They aid in breathing
- They aid in preserving jaw bones
- They aid in making oral hygiene easier
But when I look around it seems like “how our teeth look” (a.k.a. teeth “fashion”) dominates our dental decisions. Function is, most often than not, a secondary thought.
Will fashion (clothing or teeth) go away in the future? Will function take over and dominate? I’m with Jerry on this one and wish it would, but I’m not counting on it.
If you are currently looking for a dentist in the Taunton, MA area, go see Dr. Mark Turner. He and his team will help you optimize your teeth for both fashion and function. So either way, you’re covered.