One of the biggest class signifiers in US life is your teeth. Dental care in general (and cosmetic dentistry in particular) is shockingly expensive here. But if you have flawed teeth, you *will* be silently judged for that.
Every dentist I've gone to in the past 10 years or so has made me take a pic so they can show me what I'd look like with a set of "perfect" teeth and they look so fucking WRONG. I do not harbor any dreams of becoming a game show host, thank you- I like my relatively straight teeth with character.
One thing that I think people in other countries don't get is that dentists upsell unnecessary services ALL THE TIME. Loads of adults get orthodontia that they genuinely don't need.
