Skylar Geiger grew up hearing other kids nickname her “SpongeBob” because of the gaps between her teeth.
“I’ve been told in real life and on social media that I was stunning until I smiled,” Geiger, who has 28,500 followers, said. She “hated” her grin because she was always comparing it to what she saw on the internet.
Her teeth had always been “quite healthy,” but they didn’t have the precisely aligned sparkling whites she desired. She went to YouTube to replace her teeth since she didn’t have dental insurance and couldn’t afford the out-of-pocket expenditure. She bought dental cement, which is generally used to fix cavities, and put it to her teeth using the back of an earring before her 19th birthday in 2020. She shared her experience on TikTok, joining hundreds of other popular dental “hacks” on the platform. Her video has received over 2 million views.
Geiger’s DIY attempt is not unusual; while she claims she did not irreparably harm her teeth, others have not been so fortunate. In recent years, TikTok has grown so widespread with dental DIY material that it has spawned a breed of dentist-influencers who have developed followings by responding to poor oral care. On the app, the hashtag #DIYdentist has received over 3 million views.
The polished quality of social media might heighten viewers’ fears, especially if they cannot afford dental care. TikTok and YouTube are flooded with lessons promising the ideal smile without the expensive cost of visiting a dentist without insurance. However, several professional dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons have raised worry about the growing popularity of dental DIY content. Online tutorials for dangerous physical modifications abound, and those involving teeth can cause irreversible harm. Because dental enamel does not renew, attempting to fulfill an impossible aesthetic standard might have long-term implications.
TikTok is particularly famous for its dental DIY content. Many films are pretty harmless, such as at-home teeth whitening “hacks” suitable for persons with sensitive teeth. From an artist who manufactured her own night guards to a designer who 3D-printed his own Invisalign, creators with technical expertise have talked about building their own dental gear. Other viral DIY procedures include shaving teeth with a nail file to make them seem straighter, putting office supply rubber bands around teeth to seal gaps, and removing braces with a spoon at home.
Composite veneer tutorials, which employ resin to cover and contour teeth, are also popular. TikTok users have reported attending two-day classes to learn how to install veneers, while having no previous official dental education.
Dr. Ben Winters, also known as The Bentist on TikTok and YouTube, said his instructional films reacting to dental DIY content have been a “amazing smash.”
Winters claims that not all dental DIY content is hazardous. Cosplayers who use denture wax to form vampire-like fangs, or persons who acquire temporary tooth jewels, are unlikely to experience long-term ill effects.
“Most of that stuff is fairly safe,” Winters added. “If you start utilizing dental-grade materials and try to replicate what the dentist does, you’ll start making permanent alterations to your teeth that you won’t be able to pop off.”
However, many dental DIY tutorials can cause considerable harm. Shaving down teeth to make them seem straighter or more proportional resurfaces frequently on YouTube and TikTok, yet few warn viewers of the discomfort and long-term dental complications that might result.
In reaction to a video showing someone using a nail file to trim their teeth, one TikTok member stated that she experienced so severe agony that she had to take medications “every two hours.” She eventually went to the dentist.
“As uncomfortable as it was, I felt compelled to tell her what I had done. ‘You’re an utter moron,’ she said. “You’ve definitely filed into your nerve,” stated the TikTok user in the video. “I was going to require a root canal. There were two processes. I had to come in twice.”
Teeth are organs with their own blood supply and intricate nerve systems, which “no one understands,” according to Winters. “You’re really putting yourself a deadline for how long that tooth can live” by removing the hard, protective enamel that covers the surface of a tooth.
Though research into therapies such as synthetic enamel and stem cell-based tooth restoration is promising, natural enamel will not regrow on its own.
That is why Winters is concerned that young people are having extensive cosmetic dental treatment done. He compares it to numerous other cosmetic operations that are reversible or impact bodily areas that may be healed.
“This is a long-term choice. “These teeth aren’t coming back, and you won’t be getting anything else,” Winters explained. “Lip filler is dissolvable. Botox is no longer used. You can get implants removed if you receive them. Once you change the form of your teeth, it’s gone for good.”
Cosmetic dentists generally prepare teeth for veneers by softly shaving the top layer of enamel. According to Dr. Desiree Yazdan, a restorative and cosmetic dentist, they are taught to maintain as much enamel as possible.
People that do it themselves or hire amateurs to run veneer companies out of their homes may not be as cautious.
Some people who stated they obtained veneers from unlicensed amateurs reported their veneers breaking off and getting foul breath, which one dentist on TikTok indicated might be caused by teeth rotting behind the veneer.
“And they literally whittle the tooth down to a nub all the way across and stick some glue on it, and they have no idea they have just damaged one of the most vital things in their body, which is their teeth,” Winters explained. “A lot of people don’t realize how crucial having teeth for your life is until they lose them all… if the shape of your teeth is nice and they’re just a little wonky, just go to an orthodontist and have them straightened.”
Yazdan, who also provides instructional video on TikTok, stated that while patients may desire veneers for aesthetic reasons, they are not for everyone.. Some people may wish to conceal a chipped tooth. Despite having “beautiful healthy teeth,” Yazdan claimed she’s had patients as young as 18 ask for veneers.
“They’re really lovely. It’s really depressing because they believe they’re not good enough,” Yazdan explained. “I believe there is a lot of pressure to appear beautiful and have the ideal smile.”
Many people, according to Yazdan, do not take dental care seriously.
“Nobody would ever say, ‘I’m going to get a home nose job kit, and I’m going to get this scalpel, and I’m going to watch this YouTube video on how to slice my nose open,'” Yazdan explained.
The physical appearance of a person may have an impact on their real-world performance in practically any sector. Despite some content makers’ efforts to challenge beauty norms, an influencer’s physical attractiveness does impact their engagement.
Brandon Andre, a musician, stated that his looks was critical for his professional chances. He tied rubber bands around his two front teeth every day for six weeks six years ago to close the space between them. He stated that money was not an issue. Because his teeth were “already straight,” he didn’t want to wait for Invisalign or braces. Andre, now 30, claimed it appeared to work.
“I narrowed my gap so I could get pretty privilege,” Andre said on Instagram. “When you have gorgeous privilege, what field wouldn’t a person have success in? And having the ideal grin not only made me look good, but it also helped me sing better.”
Andre went on to say that he can better regulate his breathing now that air isn’t escaping through the gap between his teeth. He now wears a retainer to prevent his teeth from separating.
“When I informed my dentist what I did, he raged at me and refused to place the permanent retainer,” Andre explained. He eventually went to another dentist, who he claims was “amused” by his DIY. In a TikTok video, he stated that the retainer cost $350, which was still cheaper than the cost of braces.
Yazdan pointed out that while doing your own dental treatment may save you money in the short term, it will almost certainly cost you more in the long run. Even if initiatives like Andre’s appear to be effective, they may inflict unnoticed damage.
“It’s simply so hazardous because they have no idea what they’re doing. “They may see a surface level of teeth being shifted, but they don’t see what’s going on behind the gums, bone, and tooth roots,” Yazdan explained. Without instruction, attempting to relocate teeth can result in shorter roots, loose teeth, and gum disease.
Many Americans continue to be unable to afford dental treatment. According to a 2022 poll performed by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a health care group, 77 million Americans lack dental insurance.
Many orthodontists, according to Winters, offer payment options to stretch out the expense of braces and other orthodontic treatments. Yazdan pointed out that dentistry schools often provide discounted care, and operations are always overseen by university staff. Both techniques are more expensive than a viral dental hack, but they pose less risk of destroying otherwise good teeth.
Geiger hasn’t tried to modify her teeth since. Dentists advised her in the comments section after she released her films that she risked dental decay and gum disease by hiding the spaces between her teeth. She tried wearing a flipper – a partial denture — after the dental cement slipped off after approximately a year, but it was too uncomfortable for daily usage. She’s made more of an effort to overcome her fears than to change her appearance.
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