DIY braces and at-home orthodontic care have gained quite the following recently! Popular blogs and videos claim that your teeth can be straightened in weeks with something as simple as rubber bands. To save money, thousands have turned to these methods, as opposed to visiting a certified orthodontist. But there’s a serious downside to this seemingly convenient treatment.

DIY braces may be inexpensive, but they’re also ineffective…sometimes even dangerous. 

They Cause Pain

If you turn to at-home methods like rubber bands or try to make your own braces, you’re leaving yourself susceptible to muscle spasms and pain in your jaw. Aligning your teeth incorrectly can even lead to grinding, clenching, and tooth loss. 

They Cause Physical Damage

When you use something like rubber bands to close gaps between your teeth, you’re moving the roots beneath your gums. Some teeth have less root, which means they’ll move faster and become even more uneven than they were when you started. Sometimes, teeth may even fall out. 

Rubber bands can also cause irritation, inflammation, infection, and tooth loss.

This physical damage to your jaw and teeth can be irreversible at worst or require corrective surgery in even the best-case scenarios. 

They Cost More Money

Sure, DIY braces or at-home kits may be affordable to begin with…but if the treatment is not administered correctly from the start, you’ll be visiting orthodontists for remediation for years to come. 

What About Smile Direct Club?

Some companies have joined this at-home, DIY trend. Companies like Smile Direct Club in Center Valley offer at-home orthodontic kits. Patients can use aligners to straighten their teeth. However, even this method comes with some downsides and dangers.

  • At-home kits can only deal with simple cases. Aligners can only deal with the simplest of orthodontic cases, meaning a lot of patients are not even eligible for DIY or at-home orthodontic kits. Every smile is unique, but these kits treat patients as consumers with the same needs.
  • There’s very little personal contact. What if you have a question or an emergency? While you can call our offices, or come in when you have broken wires, you can’t do the same when working with at-home kits. You need to call customer service, which can be a frustrating experience. 
  • Retainers aren’t included. Patients need to wear retainers to keep their smiles straight, but retainers aren’t included in many of the at-home or DIY orthodontic kits. This means compliance is very low.

Proper orthodontic care is all about what’s below your teeth, just as much as it is about your teeth’s physical appearance. This is why it is important that you have a visit with a certified orthodontist. An orthodontist is better equipped to develop a personalized treatment plan that’s best for your smile. 

Braces from an orthodontist don’t have to be expensive either! We encourage you to schedule a free consultation with our team so you can learn more about our high-quality, low-priced braces for only $3,995.