There’s a new trend among young people who want straight teeth: DIY braces. There are videos on the internet giving demonstrations of how to move your teeth with rubber bands and hair elastics, and there are even kits available online! We at Orthodontic Alliances want to help you understand how dangerous this trend is!

Braces are expensive, and we understand that. At our Indiana orthodontics offices, we offer a variety of payment plans to help make braces more affordable. Don’t take your orthodontic work into your own hands or you might find your teeth in that exact place!

What Are DIY Braces?

There are quite a few methods that teens and young people are trying. Most involve the use of hair elastics and small rubber bands wrapped around the front teeth. The thought is that the constant pressure of the rubber bands can close gaps in teeth.

There are also full DIY kits available online that offer brackets and wires to actually make your own braces! These kits can be devastating to your teeth and can actually pull them right out! While these bracket and wire kits are mainly found in asia there are still cases of unlicensed dental work in the United States as well and they are just as devastating!

What Can Happen To Your Teeth

Self-bracketing can tear your teeth right out, but the more common rubber band DIY style is what is a real problem for today’s kids. Your front teeth might appear to be straight but they aren’t. As you get closer to the gumline your teeth narrow and under the gums they almost come to a point. It’s this shape that can be responsible for serious problems.

Rubber bands pull against the teeth and can easily slip upward. Once they start moving toward your gums you’re in for serious trouble. In at least one case a patient came to the dentist because a band had slipped under their gums! The patient lost their front teeth, gums, and a considerable amount of bone as well!

You aren’t just risking catastrophic results like those either. The process of moving your teeth puts force on your gums too. If your teeth are moved incorrectly or too fast you can end up with gum discoloration and damage due to interrupted blood flow! Depending on how far the roots of your teeth move you could also end up with discoloration in your teeth too! And that’s the deep kind of discoloration that’s impossible to remove!

Why Professional Orthodontic Care Is So Important

At orthodontists we undergo a lot of training after we earn our DMD or DDS degrees. Orthodontic specializations require two to three more years of full time training because of the delicate nature of moving teeth. Braces aren’t a simple procedure and a lot of work has to be done to ensure they’re successful and safe!

Proper orthodontic treatment requires extensive planning, a thorough examination, and continual care and checkups to be sure your teeth are moving without any complication. When we put braces on you or your child’s teeth we don’t just fire and forget – it’s a constant process of adjusting treatment. Perfecting your teeth is trying to hit a moving target that can have a serious effect on your health and happiness!

Are You Willing To Take Such A Risk?

The bottom line with DIY braces is this: they are a bad, bad idea! The chance of ruining your teeth, gums, and bone is too great and the results are unpredictable without professional planning! At Orthodontic Alliances we are trained to make your smile perfect, so give us the chance! Braces are an investment but they’re better than ending up with the far greater expense of dental restorations!

Make the right choice for you and your family: contact any of our Indiana locations by calling 219-809-6584! You can also reach us by filling out our online contact form. We look forward to getting you the smile you’ve always dreamed of!