DIY Orthodontics: What You Need to Know

September 16, 2019

Your dentist in Austin agrees that there is nothing more beautiful than a smile that’s healthy, confident, and straight. These days, there are more and more ways to fix your smile. We thought we’d take some time to address the surge in do-it-yourself or at-home smile straightening. Let’s talk about why it’s not the best idea for you and your smile.

Promises, Promises

Everywhere you look today from TV to online ads there seem to be new DIY aligners popping up every day. The truth is mail-ordered braces, or at-home aligners, are starting to become something of a fad. They make grand promises of straightening your smile quickly and without any appointments with a dental health professional like your Austin dentist. Check social media: people across the country are raving about their results, and there are plenty of reviews out there, too. It seems like these orthodontic solutions are the end all, be all of straightening teeth. The truth is, they’re NOT a miracle fix, and you need to be wary of the claims and promises these companies make.

Help Yourself

It’s important to understand that when you’re straightening your teeth, you’re moving bones and repositioning your bite. That’s a big deal, especially when you don’t have your dentist or orthodontist supervising the progress. To get ideal results for you and your smile, you really should have x-rays in the beginning and someone by your side to review how your bones are moving and your smile is changing. With mail-order orthodontics, you send in a mold of your teeth and hope for the best. You might find it’s not the same as having a comprehensive treatment plan monitored by a dentist or specialist. It’s like driving a car, but you only know how to ride a bike. The results can be dangerous!

We’re All Different

Just because you can go online and order some clear aligners for your smile, doesn’t mean you’re going to get the straight smile you’re promised. Everyone has a different bite and smile. Sometimes clear aligners just won’t work. If you’re one of these people who won’t see results from aligner therapy, you won’t know until you’ve already wasted time and money on your smile. (You might also do some unnecessary and unwanted damage to your teeth.) The companies selling the clear aligners won’t tell you that the product might not be the best fit for you. Some of the not-so-hot reviews for mail-order orthodontics say that people felt like their teeth were worse after they started treatment. This could be attributed to aligners that didn’t fit right or placement issues that needed to be addressed by a dental health professional. We hope you’ll schedule an appointment at our dental office in Austin so we can talk about the right way to straighten your smile. There are plenty of options out there, and we have the tools and technology to assess what will work best for you. You can have a straight smile that’s cheap and fixed fast, but it’s best to leave it up to the professionals, and, as they say on TV, don’t try this at home.