Viral DIY dentistry gone wrong: Expert insight on protecting your patients

Dental DIY social media trends. These five words may strike fear in the hearts of dental professionals. You’ve seen the damage these trends can do firsthand, from “teeth whitening” gone bad, to DIY “orthodontics” with disastrous outcomes … you’ve seen it all.

Yet, it seems these trends aren’t going away anytime soon. They simply evolve into something that’s just different enough it keeps people coming back for more. They may think, this time it won’t do any harm because it’s been updated, right? They believe since something worked for the person online who’s demonstrating the latest “technique,” it should work for them. 

And of course, the big attraction—DIY will avoid a visit to the dentist and save them money.

You know the reality of the harm that often occurs, and it’s your job to try to stay on top of these trends so that when you see the damage, you’ll have an idea of why this happened. That way you can question the patient and get to the bottom of what they did. Then you can go about your job of repairing and educating.

Jason M. Auerbach, DDS, aka @bloodytoothguy, has made it one of his missions to stay on top of social media dental trends in an effort to inform his peers about the latest ones. RDH recently reached out to Dr. Auerbach for some insights. 

RDH: What are some of the latest social media trends to watch out for? 

• Drinking large amounts of pineapple juice before wisdom tooth surgery. 
• DIY teeth whitening with baking soda, lemon juice, or activated charcoal. 
• Filing teeth at home with nail files. 
• Using rubber bands to close gaps. 
• Applying DIY tooth gems. 
• Chewing “fitness gum” to sculpt the jawline.

RDH: What sort of harm have these trends done? 

JA: The acid paired with abrasion in the pineapple juice trend can cause permanent enamel loss. Enamel doesn't grow back so this is damage that’s there forever. Some trends, like the rubber bands, can cut off blood flow and lead to tooth loss. "Fitness” gums are more likely to cause TMJ pain than sculpt someone’s jawline.

RDH: What are some good ways to educate patients about avoiding oral care trends on social media?

JA: We need to tell patients how important it is to follow the medical professionals on these platforms as well and always check with their own dentist on anything related to the mouth. We as dental professionals also need to follow the actual experts.

RDH: How are dental hygienists particularly qualified to talk to patients about these and other harmful trends?   

JA: They've seen it all. They know the dangers and know the consequences and the damage these trends cause firsthand. 

RDH: Do you think there’s ever going to be a way to shut down these trends? Why or why not? 

JA: I don’t think it’s likely because these trends gather traction quickly without much fact checking. We must continue to work on educating the public so they can keep themselves out of danger. 

RDH: How do you and other dental professionals try to counteract the harmful trends on social media? 

JA: Whenever we hear about a new trend, we should try to put out content that educates our followers about the dangers and consequences these trends can have. We can also simply bust the myth with a few facts, both when our patients are in the chair and online.

Good luck out there. It’s hard to fight the cosmetically perfect world we live in.

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