Any kid who's parents had money in school had braces. I remember hearing parents complain/brag about spending $3,000, $5,000, and even $7,000 on their braces. The other kids? You better hope they came in straight.
Mine came in fairly straight, but like others in my family one of the adult canine teeth never came through. It's still in my upper jaw. The baby tooth is still just barely there, and it's shifted my top row of teeth around a little bit.
The other thing with teeth is you have to take care of them. You have to brush twice a day, you shouldn't eat things that get stuck in there, and avoid crunchy things that can break them.
Even though I had dental insurance from work, I skipped out on going to the dentist after I wasn't living with my parents anymore. And like other hackers, I lived on sugary, acidic, and caffeinated drinks. Years later I succumbed to toothaches, finally went to see the dentist, and spent a couple thousand dollars (with insurance) getting fillings, crowns, root canals, and an extraction or two - all on the rear teeth that nobody can really see.
Back to the top row of front teeth, I saw a orthodontist about having those fixed. When you're an adult, insurance doesn't cover braces. So I was looking at between $10,000 and $12,000 to get it fixed, which would all come out of pocket.
Now, I don't think everyone has the right to perfect teeth, and you can't control everything about how they come in. But most people avoid the dentist until it's too late, they're in pain, need to get in right away, and the fix is expensive procedures like root canals and crowns. If you go every months (a regular visit doesn't cost much, even out of pocket) you can fix a lot of issues while they're cheap and easy to fix.