When you hear “TikTok,” what comes to mind? Well, for many, it’s dance videos, health hacks, and beauty advice. However, this popular app is also becoming a place for dangerous dental trends. Now, they are back at it again with the dodgy DIY dental procedures.
Following numerous widely popular teeth-whitening techniques, such as the DIY solution of baking soda and liquid hydrogen peroxide that dentists strongly advise against using, there is a new craze circulating on social media that utilizes a nail file.
It’s no exaggeration when I tell you that TikTok is becoming their Bible now. The thing is, there’s a lot of danger floating around and teenagers of the world are eager to want to try whatever they see on TikTok.
Now People of the world are looking for a cheap and easy way to perform their own enameloplasty, by simply taking a nail file and filing your teeth down to see your teeth to a desirable height.
“I’m going to file my teeth down with a nail file because they are not perfect, I have some ridges, and we’re balling on a budget,” explains one user before filing her teeth down.
As the trend has gained momentum on TikTok, dentists and orthodontists on the platform have been speaking out against the practice as they react to and debunk the videos.
Making Dentists are quite concerned about the development; they label the practice dangerous and warn that it could seriously harm your teeth.
Dr. Krystyna Wilczynski, a cosmetic dentist at White & Co Dental explains, “Filing down your teeth will remove the tooth enamel, If you file too much enamel away, you risk tooth sensitivity and even worse, nerve inflammation and irritation, and pain.”
“This can then lead to further complications and need for dental intervention,” says Dr. Wilczynski.
The tooth’s enamel, which is the exterior, hard coating, shields the dentine and nerve from damage and guards the tooth against decay.
She warns that this harm will be irreversible and permanent since, unlike your nails, which may come back the next day, tooth structure cannot regenerate.
Other Dentists also have shunned the latest beauty trend on TikTok, encouraging patients to avoid taking advice from social media.
Dr. Benjamin Winters, an Arkansas-based orthodontist who boasts over five million followers on TikTok, filmed a PSA recommending against people filing down their teeth. “Don’t get mad at me when your teeth are more sensitive than a two year old crying over spilt milk,” he says.
Iman Zayed, a dental hygienist, warned that if you damage your enamel, you can never get it back and it can even damage the tooth. “A dead tooth means extensive and expensive treatment if you want to keep it,” she said. “Don’t consider doing this, seriously.”
It’s one thing to start dyeing your own hair, plucking your own eyebrows, and asking your bestie to trim your split ends. But doing your own cosmetic dental work is taking it too far.
Before attempting to resolve the issue on your own, speak with your dentist if you are dissatisfied with the way your smile looks or performs. After all, they are well aware of your dental background, oral health requirements, and smiling objectives.
Additionally, they’ll take into account what’s best for your teeth today and in 20 years to ensure you can maintain a stunning, fully functional smile over the years. So make an appointment with your cosmetic dentist instead of looking to TikTok for dental guidance and inspiration.
Sources: Awm, Dailymail, Yahoo