Brazil's burgeoning middle class is using its new-found disposable income to invest in the latest status symbols -- including straight, white teeth.
The country has seen a decade of mostly solid economic growth and an array of cash-transfer social programs that pay Brazilians a stipend for meeting social goals, such as keeping their kids in school, according to an Associated Press news report.
In 1993, just over 45 million people in Brazil were considered middle class, which means they have monthly incomes of $600 to $2,590. By 2011, the middle class accounted for more than 105 million -- and 46% of the country's buying power.
Historically, orthodontics was seen as something reserved for people in Rio de Janeiro's highest-rent neighborhoods. But many practitioners are now catering specifically to the new middle class, the AP noted.
For example, Simetria -- a chain of orthodontic clinics in Rio de Janeiro that has traditionally marketed its services to wealthier patients -- is now offering lower-cost treatments in multichair offices staffed by hygienists and dentists rather than specialists. Patients at these clinics pay a flat fee of $50 a month, or an average of about $1,200 per treatment, compared with about $10,000 at clinics in wealthy neighborhoods, according to the AP story.
