“Hàm răng mái tóc là góc con người”- a Vietnamese saying - highlights teeth and hair as the most determining features of attractive and beautiful women.

An otherwise pretty student of the National Economics University discovered the truth of this saying when her boyfriend advised her to improve her looks by using a dental brace. It took her a long time, several years, to deal with this blow to her self-confidence. Not a particularly well-off student, it was a big decision to spend all her savings on getting a dental brace and making her boyfriend happy. Her own happiness knew no bounds when he supported and encouraged her, giving her added strength and determination. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the brace gave her a fresh, invigorating feeling.

A few days after she started wearing it, however, she noticed a marked change in his behaviour. He stopped introducing her to his friends, and worse still, did not kiss her anymore. Her misery seemed to end three months later, when he seemed to gather all his courage to kiss and make up. However, the passionate kiss hurt his lips. They swelled up and he lost the plot. Take the brace off, or we are done, he fumed.

She had braced herself for some unpleasantness, but not this ultimatum. By now, she was more committed to her beautification than to his whims and fancies. Now, she is hoping that two years down the line, her boyfriend will see her new, sparkling smile and regret his decision to break up, that he will realise a bracing brace is no disgrace. — VNS