Raina visits Dr. Dragoni's office and learns she needs braces to correct an overbite.

Raina trips while chasing friends at night and knocks out her two front teeth on the pavement.

Dr. Golden surgically reinserts Raina's damaged teeth and places a protective plaster seal.

Dr. Golden removes the seal to discover Raina's teeth have set too high, requiring more treatment.

Dr. Dragoni installs upper braces on Raina's teeth to gradually pull the front teeth into place.

Raina receives a nighttime headgear device and feels like a nerd wearing it.

A major earthquake shakes San Francisco, forcing Raina's family to take shelter under the dining table.

Dr. Dragoni reveals Raina's front teeth have fused to her jawbone and must be surgically removed.

Raina undergoes tooth extraction surgery just before the holidays and wakes to find her front teeth gone.

Raina receives a retainer with plastic fake front teeth and finally feels normal again.

Raina stands outside the Valentine's Day dance feeling sick and goes home without entering.

Dr. Dragoni installs full braces on Raina's top and bottom teeth, making it painful to smile or chew.

Karin and Nicole pull down Raina's skirt in the school courtyard, humiliating her in front of classmates.

Raina confronts her friend group about years of name-calling and disrespect and walks away from them.

Raina gives a beaming, genuine smile in a group photo at the Sophomore Hop dance.

Smile follows Raina from a routine orthodontist visit through a devastating accident that knocks out her two front teeth, launching years of painful and uncertain dental treatment. Each procedure brings new setbacks, from teeth fusing to her jawbone to extraction surgery and multiple rounds of braces. Alongside her physical ordeal, Raina's social life deteriorates as her friend group grows increasingly cruel, mocking her appearance and staging humiliating pranks. The story reaches its emotional climax when Karin and Nicole pull down her skirt in the school courtyard, finally pushing Raina to confront them and walk away. Free from their influence, she finds new friends, completes her treatment, and ends the story dancing joyfully and smiling genuinely in a group photo.

The headline events of Raina's dental journey and social struggles.

Jenny warns Raina at a Girl Scout meeting about the long list of foods forbidden with braces.

Raina returns to school after the accident and classmates pepper her with intrusive questions about her teeth.

Raina's mother buys her the videogame Wizards and Warriors as a consolation gift after bad dental news.

Emily criticizes Raina's childish twin ponytails at a Girl Scout meeting, adding to her self-consciousness.

Raina skips class for a root canal during which the endodontist accidentally burns her mouth.

Raina convinces her reluctant parents to let her get ear piercings for her upcoming birthday.

Raina visits her old friend Jane but cannot stop talking about her appearance and whether boys will like her.

Nicole writes 'Vampire-Girl' in Raina's yearbook at the end of sixth grade.

Raina develops a crush on Sammy, a sixth-grade flute player in band class who also has braces.

Raina cries on her mother's shoulder after learning her two front teeth must be extracted.

Raina watches The Little Mermaid in theaters and becomes inspired to pursue a career in animation.

Melissa and Karin mock Raina for liking Sammy, calling him a tiny-tot sixth grader.

Raina's friends stage a cruel makeover prank on her 13th birthday, dressing her up to supposedly impress Sean.

Raina tries out for the girls' basketball team to spend time near Sean but fails to make the squad.

Raina meets Theresa in gym class, who praises her artwork and introduces her to a welcoming new friend group.

While Raina's dental procedures drive the main plot, a web of secondary events reveals how her self-esteem erodes and rebuilds over time. Early on, her friends offer mixed support, her appearance is criticized, and painful procedures like the root canal add to her distress, while small victories like getting her ears pierced give her brief confidence. Her crush on Sammy gives her something positive to focus on, but bad news about extraction surgery brings her to tears, and the discovery of The Little Mermaid sparks a new creative dream. As her friends become crueler — culminating in a vicious birthday prank and a humiliating basketball tryout — Raina is primed to leave the group. The pool closes with Raina meeting Theresa, the person who finally sees her clearly and gives her the fresh start she has been seeking.

The supporting moments that shaped Raina's confidence and friendships.

Raina laughs at her missing teeth in the mirror but grows frustrated as recovery restrictions drag on.

Raina receives a get-well card from her class with SMILE on the front, which annoys rather than comforts her.

Raina gets her ears pierced on her 12th birthday and feels like a real teenager for the first time.

Raina decides to stop wearing her twin ponytails after Emily's criticism, aware she is giving in to peer pressure.

Raina develops an obsessive crush on Sean after he casually mentions enjoying The Little Mermaid.

During extraction surgery, Raina dreams of losing a baby tooth as a child in a bounce house accident.

Sammy gives Raina a Valentine's card and chocolates at band class and tells her to just forget it.

Raina learns she must wear full braces again and discovers the wire tightening makes it hurt to smile.

Boys join Raina's lunch group in eighth grade, and she appreciates the change but stays fixated only on Sean.

A teacher intercepts Raina's passed note about Sean and reads it aloud to the entire class.

The periodontist cuts Raina's gums without waiting for the anesthesia to work, causing her to faint in the chair.

Raina's furious mother screams at the periodontist's staff for performing the procedure without her permission.

Raina skips the middle school graduation photo with her friends, quietly signaling her desire to leave the group.

Theresa compliments Raina's newly revealed teeth without hesitation, dissolving Raina's remaining dental insecurities.

Dr. Golden performs additional bonding on Raina's teeth, and Raina realizes her passions matter more than her appearance.

Beneath the surface of Raina's dental story lies a deeper journey of self-discovery, marked by small but significant moments of choice and realization. Her initial amusement at the accident gives way to frustration with peer pressure and appearance, while a chance moment watching The Little Mermaid redirects both her artistic dreams and her romantic obsessions. Emotional turning points accumulate — breaking Sammy's heart, suffering a terrifying fainting episode at the periodontist, and quietly refusing to take a graduation photo with friends she is already leaving behind. Each of these moments chips away at Raina's false ideas about what she needs to be happy. By the time Theresa accepts her completely and Dr. Golden finishes his work, Raina understands that her passions and her character matter far more than the teeth she spent years worrying about.