The Rise of Do It Yourself Dentistry on TikTok

In recent years the social media platform TikTok has gained lots of popularity with teenagers and young adults. TikTok has become a become a hotspot for do it yourself dentistry. Once such do it your self dentistry trend has been shared on this site before in 2021 titled Is it Safe to Drink Large Amounts of Pineapple Juice after Wisdom Teeth Surgery that People on TikTok are Doing? Other trends that have been shown on TikTok include people shaving down their teeth and using a bottle of liquid hydrogen peroxide to whiten their teeth. 

Dentists are worried about many of these practices that are promoted by influencers on TikTok. Some dentists have said that they can be dangerous and both the short and long term risks are worse than the immediate payoff. Furthermore, the long term costs can be much higher than not doing the technique. It is possible that these videos have grown in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and people look at themselves a lot in video conference calls or videos they have posted on social media. It is also possible people simply are not aware of the risks and do not want to incur the costs associated with seeing a dentist.

In the case of using a bottle of liquid hydrogen peroxide to whiten teeth, TikTok user clauds224 shows herself dipping a Q-tip in a bottle of liquid hydrogen peroxide and then applying this to her teeth. She said in her video after four days it worked so well and recommended to stop wasting money on teeth whitening strips. She did not mention in the video that this could lead to increased tooth sensitivity and chemicals burn on the gums.

@clauds244

I’m hungover so excuse the lack of enthusiasm ##foryoupage ##foryou ##fyp ##dentist ##teeth ##teethwhitening ##advice

♬ original sound – Claud✨

In the case of shaving teeth to pegs to have crowns some TikTokers are apparently going to countries like Turkey and Colombia to have this performed and then declaring it a new teeth day. Some are also getting veneers after the teeth are shaved down to look like shark teeth. Veneers attach to the front of the teeth while crows allow the entire structure to be covered. 

Several dentists like Dr. Emi Mawson and Dr. S. Manouchehri and have come out to say that this procedure should not be done and to attempt to explain the difference between veneers and crowns. They say that once teeth are down to stumps there is no going back and that crowns are easier for dentists to perform and require less skill. Another dentist said that shaving teeth down to pegs to have crowns at a young age could require dentures by age 40. She also warned on some risks of doing this. She said that this procedure can damage the nerve and likely go to require root canal treatment and tooth extraction later in life. Furthermore, any crowns or veneers will need to be replaced every 10 to 15 which costs money. Veneers and crowns can be expensive costing $1,200 to $1,500 per tooth. Additionally, needing to replace crowns or veneers 4 or 5 times in ones life would have a big impact on the teeth pegs left.

@drshaadimanouchehri

##veneers ##veneerscheck ##veneers_smile ##veneersjourney ##dentist ##dentistry ##dentalstudent ##makeover ##pov ##homesalon ##haircare ##fy ##fyp ##foryou ##foru

♬ original sound – Dr S Manouchehri

TikTok users like s.mhallowayx took notice of the attention but still seemed to be happy with the decisions to shave their teeth down and get crowns.

Dental implants could also be an option for these TikTokers when they get older that have shaved down their teeth to pegs and gotten crowns when getting a new crown is no longer an option. However, dental implants are very costly costing $5,000 to $6,000 for each tooth. It seems that one should stick to conventional dentistry treatments and take advice from their dentist. A can do attitude and wanting to find clever ways to improve one’s appearance is good, but one should fully understand the pros and cons before they go about with something especially when they are very young.

Sources:

1. Latoya Gayle “‘You’ll need dentures by 40′: Dentist warns how influencer trend for having teeth shaved down to pegs to fit crowns will RUIN your smile long term,” DailyMail, November 30, 2020.
2. Mellisa Busch, “Are your patients turning to TikTok for DIY dentistry?“, Dr. Bicuspid, March 15, 2021.