Social Media And The Risks For Oral Health

How memes and false information can be really damaging to your teeth and gums.

There was a time when most dental advice came from a dentist, a hygienist or perhaps a well-thumbed health magazine sitting in a waiting room. This is often not the case today.

Most of us will at least privately admit to idly scrolling through social media for a period of time each day. Among the ‘cats playing piano’ videos, we are likely to come across articles that pique our interest and that includes those relating to dentistry and smile improvement methods. Unfortunately, these are often unreliable.

If you read something on a dentist’s website, there is every chance that the information is basically correct. However, there is an industry based around appealing to people’s desires to improve their smile and these are very often purely oriented around money and not the person’s well-being.

Misinformation

Advertisements placed on TV or in magazines are usually regulated so that the information must be true. Although some advertisers sometimes ‘stretch’ things a little, they should be informative to some degree. When it comes to social media though; there is little regulation and wild claims can often be made.

Unfortunately, many dentists will have seen patients who have come to them with a problem caused by patients following advice they have seen on social media. A good example of this is the advice to whiten teeth by using lemon juice. This is the type of information that may even be well intended, as there is no profit from it, but is very harmful anyway. Alternatively, someone may have bought a tooth whitening product following claims, only for it to badly damage their teeth due to an excessive amount of the bleaching agent being contained in it.

Unfortunately, by the time the damage is likely to have been done,  it is likely that a solution such as fitting porcelain veneers might be needed to restore the teeth.

Orthodontics

Perhaps because there is more money in it, there has been a recent increase in the number of online orthodontic services offered. These often offer orthodontics that are provided from photographs and impressions from a kit that they send you. Even if we give these the benefit of the doubt as to their effectiveness, which is debateable; there is the fact that no check was done regarding the patient’s oral health beforehand and often, no supervision during the treatment, or at best, video follow ups, both of which are a  long way from being ideal, or possibly even safe.

If you use orthodontics to try to correct teeth and one or more of them is damaged or weakened, putting pressure to straighten them could cause the tooth to break. If you have orthodontic treatment at SG Dental and Implant Centre, we will always check your oral health first and carry out any necessary treatment before we straighten your teeth, and will of course, monitor progress along the way.

At the more ridiculous end of things, we have even seen videos where teenagers are advising others to use a system made from elastic bands to straighten their teeth .. usually with terrible results. Please do not attempt this!

Care and planning

It might seem that whitening your teeth should be very simple, but the reality is quite different. First of all, your teeth are living organisms and not a single solid block of enamel. They are made up of different layers with a soft pulp at the centre which contains nerves. If the tooth is damaged by following the wrong advice, they may need significant treatment to be restored, or you could lose your teeth altogether. As an adult, following the wrong advice could mean that you will soon be looking at dentures or dental implants to replace lost teeth, simply because you had been misled. Make no mistake about it, there is big money to be made by these people and the adverts are often very professional looking. Don’t be fooled, and, if you are tempted, please talk to our Burton dentists first.

The fact is that any dental work requires planning beforehand. It is essential that, before any cosmetic work is carried out, you will need to have a general oral health check and possibly x-rays or scans if needed. There is, for example, little point in whitening teeth that are decaying, or straightening teeth that are weakened or damaged. Doing the ‘groundwork’ and getting your teeth and gums in good health before cosmetic treatment starts is essential.

Going forwards

It seems unlikely that social media is just a passing phase, and businesses, both good and bad, are increasingly using it to sell their products and services. It can be very difficult in some cases to discern if they are legitimate or just in it to make a ‘quick buck’.

We accept that some of our Burton patients might be attracted by treatments to improve their smile that they see online. We would however, strongly suggest that, if you are considering these, you discuss this with us before going ahead. There is no substitute for a ‘bricks and mortar’ dental practice where you can talk one to one with a qualified dentist and receive the necessary treatment, rather than risk your teeth by ‘winging it’ and hoping for the best by using online suggestions, and especially those found on the largely unregulated social media channels.

If you have seen something on social media that you are considering and want to be sure it is safe (and effective) we recommend discussing this with us first, please contact the SG Dental and Implant Centre today to arrange a consultation with one of our dental team. You can call our Burton dental clinic on 01283 845345.