# Whence the stereotype that buck teeth = stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036 "2007-05-30T07:45:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/1 "2007-05-30T07:45:20Z")
Well? It’s a common stereotype. Just look at [Goofy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goofy) from Mickey Mouse or [Zero](http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/images/_char/bbailey_zero.gif) from Beetle Bailey. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/2 "2007-05-30T09:39:53Z")
OK, this is a WAG, but it probably came about because people with severe mental retardation often retain habits that push teeth out of alignment. Things such as thumb-sucking or allowing the tongue to protrude, push the teeth forward, and even a mild tendency to be slack-jawed reduces the pressure of the lips against teeth enough to allow them to mis-align. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/3 "2007-05-30T13:14:48Z")
I’d equate it with thespians dressing like that, and the early cartoonists drawing people and groups of people with the big buck teeth, or broken and misalligned to add to the repulsion of the characters, they wished to degrade. It usually included a total package of bad teeth, bad eyes, bad clothes and not being able to read, because they were uneducated, and they were the latest of a family with inferior genes. Look at some early cartoons or movies in the archives. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/4 "2007-05-30T13:25:33Z")
Don’t use the links if you can’t handle the stereotypical portrayals of groups of people. Here is a Beety Boop short film that is typical of the genere. It has the Hatfields of fame in it. The cartoonist was getting pressure from the mountain folks about his immoral content. He just then happens to produce this. [Betty Boop: Musical Mountaineers : Max Fleischer : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/bb_musical_mountaineers) A listing of more such archives. [http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=betty%20boop%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies](http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=betty%20boop%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies) ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/5 "2007-05-30T15:22:37Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Don’t use the links if you can’t handle the stereotypical portrayals of groups of people. Here is a Beety Boop short film that is typical of the genere. It has the Hatfields of fame in it. The cartoonist was getting pressure from the mountain folks about his immoral content. He just then happens to produce this. [Betty Boop: Musical Mountaineers : Max Fleischer : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/bb_musical_mountaineers) A listing of more such archives. > **[Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music &...](http://archive.org/search?query=betty%20boop%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies)** [/QUOTE] That first clip was very…special. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/6 "2007-05-30T20:33:53Z")
I doubt there’s a factual answer about the exact origin of this stereotype, so I don’t feel bad about adding my nonfactual $0.02: I think that **Harmonious Discord** is on the right track, but without the thespian angle. My guess would be that, in days of yore, only the wealthy could afford dentistry or education, and the two become conflated. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/7 "2007-05-30T20:39:13Z")
I will add to the first two answer saying that people with mental retardation are also less likely to receive corrective treatment for cosmetic issues. Not only is their appearance “less important” but also the procedures and treatments are less likely to have good follow-through without a ton of parental intervention. Cite: WAG+IME ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/8 "2007-05-30T23:04:33Z")
Does Edgar Bergan’s (That would be Candice’s dad for all you young whippersnappers) [Mortimer Snerd](http://members.aol.com/schrstudio/BERGEN/mortimer.htm) character predate the other references? I know that this deeply ingrained the bucktoothed=stupid stereotype for my parent’s generation. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/9 "2007-05-30T23:22:38Z")
[QUOTE=Cillasi] OK, this is a WAG, but it probably came about because people with severe mental retardation often retain habits that push teeth out of alignment. Things such as thumb-sucking or allowing the tongue to protrude, push the teeth forward, and even a mild tendency to be slack-jawed reduces the pressure of the lips against teeth enough to allow them to mis-align. [/QUOTE] No, that’s not quite right. Down’s Syndrome often affects the jaw and palate. Children with downs can also have delayed development with respect to their teeth. (Eg/ they may not start teething until they’re almost two years old and not have a full set until they’re three). Because their mouths are small than normal, their tongues may protrude or they’ll have the “slack-jawed” look. It also affects speech to some degree because their tongues are too big. It has a lot less to do with retaining thumb-sucking “habits” than actual physical differences. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/10 "2007-05-30T23:38:23Z")
[QUOTE=Cillasi] OK, this is a WAG, but it probably came about because people with severe mental retardation often retain habits that push teeth out of alignment. Things such as thumb-sucking or allowing the tongue to protrude, push the teeth forward, and even a mild tendency to be slack-jawed reduces the pressure of the lips against teeth enough to allow them to mis-align. [/QUOTE] IIRC one of the traits of Down Syndrome is that the tongue is enlarged, which may well cause the person to hold their mouths slightly open. This would tend to reveal buck teeth, if present, and could also be the origin of the “stupid mouth-breather” concept. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-stereotype-that-buck-teeth-stupid/406036/11 "2007-05-30T23:45:55Z")
I’m not sure if my previous post sounded snippy or not, but just in case it came across that way, please note: I am the proud godfather of a beautiful, 5-year-old gilr with Down’s. Her teeth are totally going to finance her dentist’s kids’ college education. No doubt. The “slack-jawed simpleton” and the afrementioned “mouthbreather” stereotypes, like Cletus on The Simpsons, wherein the dimwit has some kind of overbite, is probably a reflection of the receded chin of Down’s Syndrome (and the stereotype kind of annoys me).