At Hoybjerg Family Orthodontics, we believe everyone deserves a beautiful, healthy smile, and we’re always happy to see patients excited and motivated to achieve their own. But while eagerness to achieve a new smile is always welcome, there’s a new trend that’s seriously worrying to us: do-it-yourself, or DIY, braces.
DIY braces generally take the form of using rubber bands, string, or other non-orthodontic appliances to attempt to move teeth. Often, people will try to tie a string or rubber band around two teeth to pull them together or put a makeshift “spacer” in between teeth to attempt to spread them out. It may seem harmless, but this attempt at moving teeth can cause serious problems with your bite and smile.
Orthodontics is an incredibly complicated field, and the tools and techniques that we use at our office are specially designed and precisely calibrated to apply a gentle, constant force on the teeth. This is the only way to safely and reliably realign teeth. Attempting to move teeth using crude instruments like rubber bands or strings not only won’t work, but can actually dislodge the connections between the tooth and the supporting tissues underneath. This can lead to severe damage to the tooth, gums, and bones around it, usually causing the tooth to fall out and sometimes leaving permanent damage. While enthusiasm is a great thing, if you know anyone trying to make “DIY braces” for themselves, tell them to stop immediately. If they don’t, they may be causing serious damage to their smile – damage that may never go away.
Want to create a more beautiful smile safely and effectively? We can help with that. Feel free to read up more on treatments we offer, reach out to us at our, or use our easy online form to schedule an appointment for a free consultation. We can’t wait to hear from you, and we hope to see you back at this blog for more tips and information on keeping your smile healthy and beautiful – and doing it all safely!