When you’re looking for high-quality orthodontic treatments, your local Rancho Santa Margarita orthodontic team at Cook Orthodontics is here to help. With our wide range of efficient treatments, such as braces and Invisalign, we’re capable of providing you with a safe and guaranteed way of giving you a straighter and healthier smile. As your trusted Orange County orthodontist, Dr. Debra Cook has spent years perfecting her craft and understands all of the ins-and-outs of the orthodontic field. When you have an orthodontic problem, it’s imperative that you come see a professional instead of attempting to fix it on your own with do-it-yourself (DIY) braces, which has unfortunately become a recently popular trend.

The Rise – and Hopefully Fall – of DIY Braces

The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) has reported that 13 percent of its member orthodontists have seen patients that have tried to straighten their teeth through DIY braces. With the usage of rubber bands, string, dental floss, paper clips, or other household items, many people have tried to use these disposable items to perform an incredibly complex procedure. In fact, this phenomenon is rapidly rising due to the surge of popularity of videos on social media teaching amateurs on how to straighten their teeth on their own.

What makes this such a terrible idea is that orthodontics is an incredibly complicated field. The techniques and tools that we use in our office are specially designed to exert a precisely calibrated amount of force on your teeth to straighten them. This guarantees the safety of your teeth while they’re gradually shifting into their designated positions. DIY methods don’t offer that kind of safety at all. What ends up happening is that a person who wants to save a few thousand dollars by performing DIY orthodontics ends up causing serious damage to his or her teeth, possibly even causing them to loosen and fall out. This damage that they end up causing to their own teeth will often cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair – way more than the initial amount spent to just get the professional procedure done in the first place.

So, please…don’t try this at home.

Contact Your Orange County Orthodontist Today!

If you’re interested in orthodontic treatment that’s performed in a safe and professional manner, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (949) 589-7820. If you have any further questions, we encourage you to contact us online or by phone. We hope to hear from you soon and treat you to a straighter and healthier smile!