You may have trouble finding a dentist, but self-treatment is a very bad idea

Many people in the UK are fighting for access proper dental care to support keep your teeth hearty. NHS Dentistry is in a state of collapse AND poverty in dental hygiene in the growth phase. Budget cuts contribute to “dental deserts“all over the country, where is minimal or lack of access to NHS dental care and private healthcare is financially unaffordable for many people.

Lockdowns during the pandemic as well prevented many from access to healthcare, including NHS dentistry. It is no wonder that the last few years led to reports of people fleeing to desperate measures to cope with dental problems.

March 2023 YouGov survey found that one in ten Britons had “performed dental procedures on themselves”, including “using cement and superglue to attach crowns and dentures, treating urine infections, using “heated polymer beads” to replace missing teeth and applying chemical metal (an adhesive usually used for home or outdoor repairs) as a filling”.

In 2022, academics from the Peninsula Dental School at the University of Plymouth he informed that one patient “removed gigantic amounts of tartar with a dart,” while another attempted to remove 13 teeth using vodka and forceps.

Most of the tools you see at the dentist are scaled down or improved versions of what you might have in your toolbox at home. These pieces of dental equipment are designed to make it harder for microbes to colonize their surfaces and are sterilized after each use – the pliers used to repair that connection behind the toilet last month are unlikely to be as hygienic.

Self-removal can lead to the formation of an orosinus fistula, which is an abnormal tunnel between the oral cavity and the oral cavity. maxillary sinus (the empty space in the bones around the nose). If it is smaller than two millimeters, it usually heals on its own. However, larger fistulas pose a significant risk of infection.

Oral Microorganisms, Fluids and Foods the contents can be forced through the open hole into the toasty, humid space of the maxillary sinus, where infection can manifest and develop – and require invasive surgery.

In addition, tooth extraction may not support if the infection is located at the junction of the tooth and bone. So someone who is brave with forceps may at best not feel better, and at worst – have terrible pain and an open wound with the risk of secondary infection.

Amateur dentists also run the risk of leaving part of the tooth in the gum. Root remnants often remain because the roots reach a thin point that often breaks during extraction.

This is another risk of infection because there are few or no blood vessels running through the teeth, so Immune cells cannot fight bacteriaThe average person having their own tooth removed would not be able to determine whether there was any root remaining and whether this would cause any future problems. requires oral surgery to remove it – which can be steep and extremely painful.

There is also a risk that self-extractors will change their permanent biting mechanicscausing pain when eating and damaging other hearty teeth in the jaw or soft tissue mouth

Not everything is white

While most people resort to DIY dental care to relieve pain, some social media users will do anything to have a movie star smile.

There were cases people using nail files to silky out the natural ridges and differences in your teeth. This is extremely hazardous. It removes the difficult protective layer of enamel from your teeth and causes micro-cracks to open in the layers beneath them, increasing the risk of infection, decay and potential tooth death – which will cause pain and suffering in the future.

Next, we have home teeth whitening with hydrogen peroxideSome people apply hydrogen peroxide solution directly to their teeth, risking long-term damage for (possible) short-term gain.

Legal whitening kits are regulated to stop maximum 0.1% hydrogen peroxidebut users are exposing their teeth to concentrations that are many times higher. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent that damages the tissues it comes into contact with. This means it can cause sedate damage to the gums or digestive tractif swallowed.

All of these risks illustrate why seeing a dentist should be a priority if you have a dental emergency or are determined to undergo cosmetic procedures (and why making affordable dental care more accessible should be a government priority). Quick fixes and tricks usually cost more in the long run.