What’s the first thing you see when you meet a person? Is it their smile, their eyes, or something else? Surprisingly, for many, it’s teeth alignment. Today, there’s a lot of value to having a beautiful smile, whether it’s confidence or desirability. But not everyone has naturally straight teeth, and finding a teeth straightening solution becomes crucial to have the perfect smile. With rising costs and an increasing number of DIY options for oral care, many believe that going the DIY route for teeth straightening is the perfect solution.
An increase in DIY options doesn’t mean that they are actually good for your teeth. DIY teeth straightening products can come with a lot of limitations and risks that you might be unaware of. If you’re thinking of going for a DIY product for your teeth straightening, here is why you should rethink it instead:
Curated Treatment
Every individual is different, and it’s the same with teeth. Your teeth are aligned in a specific way, and it can require personalized treatment that caters to correcting that specific problem. A DIY approach, on the other hand, is a one-size-fits-all solution that aims to work for everyone in the same way.
While a DIY product may fail to take these individualities into consideration, that won’t be the same case when you visit a dentist. With a dentist, you will find that the treatment plan is made considering your jaw structure, bite alignment, and other factors that can impact the result.
Risks Involved
When it comes to DIY straightening kits, they often work by applying excessive pressure, usually more than is needed. Without any professional monitoring of these treatments and how they are adhering to your teeth, it can be quite harmful in the long term. It can damage your tooth enamel, gum, and even your bite alignment.
Through regular teeth straightening methods that are supervised by a dentist, periodic adjustments can be made, which can lead to straighter teeth with minimal pain. Any complications that arise during the process can be swiftly dealt with, which is not the case with DIY treatments.
Misalignment and Other Problems
Attempting to straighten your teeth with no supervision and by completely relying on DIY products can often create new bite problems. Overbites, underbites, and crossbites can occur or get even more complicated due to these DIY methods. When you want to make sure that you get straighter teeth that don’t come at the cost of your oral health, it’s crucial that you see a professional.
You might also find a lot of DIY products that have great reviews, but these reviews may not be as genuine as you believe them to be. A lot of influencers and individuals are compensated for reviewing a product positively, and they may have milder alignment problems compared to you. These products also often involve using unsanitary or non-sterile materials, which can cause sores and oral infections.
Limited DIY Treatment Options
Most DIY products that focus on teeth alignment usually only concentrate on front teeth alignment and not the rest. Not only does this create improper alignment, but it can also neglect other underlying issues that may be causing the problem in the first place.
If you’re looking to correct your teeth with at-home aligners or something similar, be prepared for when they don’t fit you properly. Only aligners that have been molded to your teeth will have long-lasting results, whereas DIY aligners can be highly uncomfortable and not give you the results you were hoping for. They can also cause bacteria to increase, causing irreversible damage at times.
Why Is Going Professional Better?
A certified and experienced dentist has years of experience that no at-home DIY kit can replace. They are trained to treat and diagnose a number of oral health concerns, including misaligned teeth or bite problems that can lead to other issues. While there is a chance that at-home treatments can work to correct slightly misaligned teeth, there’s no guarantee that they won’t further aggravate the problem and make it worse.
A dentist, in this regard, is the safer option because their expertise and knowledge enable them to make an accurate diagnosis, and they have tools at their disposal that you won’t have at home. This includes X-rays, molds, and other resources.
The Value of Experience
There are many orthodontic conditions today that can lead to improper alignment, and only an experienced dentist can diagnose these conditions. Because of the fast-changing nature of dentistry, they have to continually keep themselves updated on the latest technology and developments, which helps you get better treatment for your teeth straightening.
They will take multiple factors into consideration, including aesthetics, dental history, treatment duration, and lifestyle, while prescribing a specific method to you. After putting you on a specific teeth straightening treatment, they will continually monitor the progress and make sure you never feel uncomfortable, which isn’t the same for DIY treatments.
Finding the Right Plan for You
Ultimately, your teeth are too important to be left to DIY methods. How you feel about your smile can affect your confidence, your self-esteem, and even your professional life. Research shows that Americans perceive those with straight teeth to be 58% more likely to be successful.
There are many orthodontists today that offer flexible payment plans and even dental insurance that covers teeth straightening treatments. Opting for DIY treatments just because they might be more affordable than going to a dentist doesn’t just put your oral health at risk; it puts your smile at risk too. A DIY approach to teeth straightening isn’t guaranteed to fix the problem; it just temporarily makes it feel like it’s doing something. When you’re looking for long-lasting results, visiting a dentist is still your best bet!
