Simpsons flashback

I remember a Simpsons episode that I first saw around the time I first got braces (any impact it had on my braces experience is nebulous). Lisa needs to get braces, and is shown two models: the first, a tiny, cosmetically appealing creation, emits a pleasant perfume when moved. The second, a comically gigantic, metallic beast, spews a foul musk. Of course, Homer can't afford the former, so she ends up with the latter.

I wonder how much corrective oral technology has evolved in the last ten years. The Simpsons' depiction was obviously comically exaggerated, but I remember being straddled with a bizarre looking headgear that branched from my mouth and around my head. Headgear should go the way of the buffalo.

I don't know if there's a differential in the cosmetic quality of the braces at PDS and Sears; I'm inclined to believe there isn't. This aspect of the field should be fairly standardized. Several organizations have aggressively advertised the non-visible braces (invisiline), but those are only useful for very mild corrections.

I'll probably end up with a contraption somewhere in the middle of the two Simpsons models.