There is a growing trend on teens making their DIY braces, or "gap bands," using elastic bands to help straighten their teeth or close gaps. YouTube tutorial videos have been all over the net for the past months, causing an alarm to experts who are warning people that DIY braces can ruin the gums and make the teeth fall out.
One of those who made the video tutorial is singerforeverlove, who said that her family couldn’t afford to pay for real braces to fix the gap between her teeth, so she decided to fix them using the DIY braces. She claimed that the DIY braces fixed her teeth after wearing them for a few weeks, according to the Daily Mail.
'It's gonna hurt, especially the first few days...but don't [give up], because it's totally worth it in the end,” she said in the video.
DIY braces are tempting, especially since the average cost of an adult set of braces in the U.S. is $4,800, based on the statistics of the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics. Braces are often used to correct “bad bites” or crooked teeth to straighten the smile.
Experts are warning people that it is more expensive to repair the damage caused by the DIY braces.
“It seems very attractive that you could possibly move your own teeth, but when you move a tooth, the color of the tooth might change because you are damaging the blood supply,” Juan Rendon, of Jefferson Dental Clinics in Texas told Metro.
“You’re also going to have problems with your gums. When the gums are subject to pressure, the blood supply is cut [off], which changes the shape of the gums and can cause severe inflammation and infection.”
