You Tube is the online home of videos showing all kinds of Do-It-Yourself advice, from makeup tutorials to step-by-step guides on how to re-tile your bathroom. It’s the go-to website that has the answers to all of our DIY questions.
But not all those videos are reliable and many can be downright dangerous to your health. People who are looking to save their hard-earned money are often looking for the cheapest way to solve a problem without worrying about the dangers.
Some of the newest videos that are starting to gain popularity show teenage girls creating their own homemade braces. Using a combination of rubber bands, aluminum foil, paper clips, fishing line, and pierced earring backs, these girls show what they claim is an effective way of straightening teeth.
Orthodontists are quick to point out the potential damage that can come from DIY braces:
- Teeth move far easier than we think, and moving them without fully understanding how the jaw works can be very dangerous.
- Moving teeth affects the structure of the mouth and could lead to irreparable damage.
- The risk of infection, by using non-sterilized elastics and metals, which could affect the gums and roots, could lead to teeth loss.
The cause for this rise in DIY braces is one that causes many of these online trends to occur: cost. When a teenage girl sees perfect teeth, but her family can’t afford them, she turns to what she perceives is the next best option. But much like we would never try to perform plastic surgery at home, we should never make our own braces.
So if you’re looking to fix your smile, and want to talk to a professional Vancouver orthodontist, come and see the friendly staff at Dr. Bryan Hicks Orthodontist. Don’t go onto You Tube.
