Just to present the other side of this, I was somebody who, despite having horrible-looking, but otherwise healthy teeth, never got braces as a kid. I'm not really sure why, to be honest, I've never asked my parents. We weren't rich by any means but my mother spent lot of money on making sure I was happy so there must be some other reason she never bothered. Anyway, for most of my life I've had extreme self-esteem issues, mostly around my horrible teeth. I'm reasonably sure that a huge portion of my mental suffering throughout my teenage years was related to the huge gap in my front teeth (and the other alignment issues this causes). I'm well-known for never smiling in pictures, and whenever I meet a new person, especially an attractive woman, I go as long as I can without opening my mouth and once I do, I completely distance myself from the person and don't even bother trying to make them like me anymore. Back when I used to try online dating (I have a girlfriend now (non-american, so I suspect it may not be as big a deal to her) but I know I'll never try to date again anyway), there was nothing worse than the terrible, tangible feeling in the air when I first revealed my teeth. I think about my teeth every single social interaction I'm in, even with people I've known for years.

Like it or not, humans judge based on appearance. You can be frustrated all you want at that fact (if you so choose...) but I think you need to consider that your child is a real person who will have to deal with the harsh, cold world someday. Yes, dental procedures hurt and go against the child's wishes. So did every hard thing I had to do as a child that I never would have elected to do on my own (school, doctors appointments, exercise, funerals, etc.) Maybe your kid will grow up to be one of those odd people who totally reject physical beauty standards and are perfectly happy with their flaws, but I think more likely they'll be self-conscious and vain like the rest of us. If I had gotten my teeth fixed back when we had money and insurance, back when it was acceptable to have metal braces, back before anybody expected me to have nice teeth, I would have saved myself years of pain. Now I'm broke, have no insurance, and have to find some option that doesn't involve visible braces since they look ridiculous on a 25 year old man. And I'll never get a second chance with all the people I've grossed out or turned off over the years.