Whether it’s working on your home, making homemade beauty products or crafting a little something in your garage, everyone likes having a DIY project. On top of tapping into human nature that always wants us to work with our hands, DIY projects tend to be cheaper than calling a professional… Even though sometimes, we should definitely call someone. Orthodontics is one of these areas where you don’t want to mess around too much (or at all), so if you need to have your mouth examined, look no further than the Clinique d’orthodontie F. Lavoie to get an impeccable service given by outstanding dental health professional.
DIY Orthodontics — What Are They?
There are several videos with 100s of thousands of views on YouTube showing young people trying to get their teeth straightened by using common DIY methods such as paper clips, rubber bands, bobby pins, or even aluminum foils. The phenomenon is so pervasive than the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) had to issue an alert in order to warn the potential viewers of these videos! A survey conducted among AAO members indicated that almost 13% of this organization’s members are treating patients who’ve tried or heard about DIY methods. Unfortunately, some of them have caused irreparable damages to their mouths.
One of the most well-known DIY orthodontics’ methods consists in using rubber bands in order to close the gaps between certain teeth and straighten them out. People that choose to try this technique simply wrap the elastics all-around their crooked teeth and leave them in place until they seem straight or better than they were before. Considering the ridiculously low price of this “procedure” and the fact that it’s almost completely hassle-free, one could be tempted to go down this road… But if you do, you’ll get what you paid for and some troubles that could set you back even further than your initial state!
The Dangers of DIY Orthodontics
If using elastics in orthodontics and dentistry is nothing new, it’s a lot more complicated than simply wrapping them around your teeth and hoping for the best. Indeed, there is a potential for truly disastrous results, which is one of the biggest risks associated with the use of gap bands. Since teeth vary greatly in their size, shape, and alignment, it’s too easy for rubber bands to progressively slide and get stuck into your soft tissues. Once it’s there, it becomes incredibly difficult — if not straight-up impossible — to retrieve without getting some help from a dental health professional. If you find yourself in that position and still decide to not consult a dentist or an orthodontist, be aware that on top of screwing up your teeth alignment, you expose yourself to other risks such as choking on your fake braces; ingesting the metal used in the materials that compose your DIY device (if it’s not a rubber band); having your enamel cracked by your homemade appliance or your gums infected, which could require a tooth extraction; ending up with a worse smile than before due to your teeth being moved too fast or in the wrong direction; and many more nightmare stories that happened to people that were a bit too smart for their own good.
Don’t Try To Cut Corners
As we said in the introduction, you don’t want to mess with your teeth and your health in general. Good orthodontic work is typically not easy, quick or cheap, and people that are telling you otherwise are not doing you any favors. Creating a good-looking smile is almost an art form that requires years of training, education and a certain amount of skills. While orthodontic treatments tend to be expensive, you’ll never know until you talk to a dental health professional and enquire about the procedures you need to get done and the payment plans available, if there are any. In all cases, DIY orthodontics is a bad idea that could ruin your dental health and cost you far more time and money down the line.
