Dentists warn children not to make their own braces
Do-it-yourself braces have apparently become a thing now, with a growing number of YouTube tutorials showing pre-teens how to have that perfect smile through the use of homemade braces. One detailed tutorial, simply titled “fake braces,” has nearly half a million views. The two kids quickly make a pair of braces with use of bobby pins, earring backs, pliers and multi-coloured rubber bands.
“We’re going to use yellow and orange for mine,” one girl laughs, while showing users how to apply the earring backs to the bobby pin.
“By the way make sure that you wash the bobby pins out if you have used them before,” she adds.
“And you might want to make sure they’re clean pliers,” the other girl notes.
They complete one set of bulky braces in 10 minutes as one girl models them for the camera. “Yours will look better than ours. We’re kind of in a rush to go somewhere.”
Although these videos may generate a few giggles, at least one Vancouver orthodontist is warning teens and children to avoid DIY orthodontics. In an interview with CTV News, Colleen Adams called DIY braces “shocking” and “scary,” and suggests that many YouTube videos simplify a complex procedure.
“Teeth sit in gums and bone, and if you move them the wrong way you can lose teeth, you can damage the gums, you can actually lose bone. It can be a significant problem,” Adams told CTV.
So whether kids make these braces for fun or due to lack of money, it could cost parents more in the end.
“If you’re doing things on your own, you can cause things that are super expensive to repair,” Adams noted.
If you were to scroll through “DIY braces” YouTube videos, most of the demos have equal like-to-dislike ratings, with many users leaving reprimanding comments.
“Who else came from the video saying fake braces are really bad for you,” one commenter wrote under a popular DIY video.
“I didn’t click on your video because I want to know how to make fake braces,” another user wrote . “I clicked on your video because it’s stupid how kids try to be cool with ‘braces.’ You should know how they actually hurt. I just got them yesterday and they hurt so much.”
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