| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 科技與社會研究所 === 99 === From the perspective of utilizers of medical service, this study investigates orthodontic practices from three aspects: the coproduction of technology and human society, the gap between medical advises on malocclusion and how utilizers conceive them, and their continuous reflections as orthodontics appears as an option to refigure their body/lives
This study has three findings. First, thanks to recent advancement in orthodontic technology, utilizers of medical service are able to find what might meet their needs. Meanwhile, celebrities facilited the urge for orthodontics by openly sharing their experiences. Second, despite experts generally agree that teenage is the best time for orthodontic treatment, this study reveals that it was in fact the adults that contributed as the majority to the increasing population who seek for the treatment. It also finds that the flexibility of payment methods, as well as the Taiwanese dentists’ technology preference, are responsible for this phenomenon. Finally, although there have been in place a set of criteria for malocclusion, by which almost all people are classified as “abnormal”, this study concludes that these criteria are by no means primary concerns for people who decide to be engaged in an orthodontic treatment. Non-medical considerations, such as cosmetic ones, play a crucial role in their decisions. By tracking these factors as they are woven into the utilizers’ life stories, this thesis argues that these factors are not just factors per se; they arouse utilizers’ body awareness and skills to cope it. They also affect, upon these body reflections, whether medical interventions are allowed to enter their lives.
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