Super Glue, Power Tools and Emery Boards – Chicago's alarming DIY dentistry tools

Super Glue, Power Tools and Emery Boards Chicago's alarming DIY dentistry tools

Chicago Dental Society's annual midwinter meeting attracts up to 30,000 dental professionals who take off their white coats to don smart evening wear and talk shop about their profession.

And it seems like they have a few horror stories to tell about patients who have decided to perform operations themselves rather than turn to an emergency dentist. London dental clinics like Ethicare have, as yet, reported few incidents of patients trying to save money during the credit crunch by carrying out DIY' dental procedures.

But in Chicago it is a different story. A survey carried out by the dental society found that 70 per cent of the area's doctors have seen patients who tried to treat their own dental problem before going to a surgery.

Super Glue, Power Tools and Emery Boards

Apparently, these have-a-go untrained dentists, favoured super glue to mend dentures and broken crowns.

Even more alarmingly, there are reports of people trying to give themselves a root canal with power tools designed for putting up shelves and boring through walls.

Dangerously, emery boards have been used to file chipped teeth a procedure which must be excruciatingly painful.

Painkillers

Some of these foolhardy souls have been overusing topical painkillers like teething gels to numb the pain of operations' which wouldn't have looked out of place in medieval times.

Sporting injuries seem to contribute to a lot of the dental problems which lead to patients taking matters into their own hands. The survey found that basketball accounted for 30 per cent of dental injuries with ice hockey and baseball also carrying big dental risks.

Financial hardship

Economic woes could be the cause of people turning their kitchens, living rooms and work sheds into makeshift dental surgeries; 70 per cent of Chicago dentists reported that hard-up patients delayed dental care in 2010.

Teeth whitening

Patients were also polled by the Chicago Dental Association which found out that more than half have tried teeth-whitening treatments; applying teeth-whitening toothpaste is the most favoured method of making teeth bright and clean.

The perfect smile

Two out of every five people believe that a person's smile is the first thing you notice about them - a good reason to whiten your teeth.

Straight teeth seem to be more important than white teeth when it comes to judging the perfect smile.

Social networking

The modern world seems to be having little impact on the way that people look for a new dentist. Only two per cent had found a dentist through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter while 34 per cent favoured word of mouth.

Toothbrush sharing

Fifteen per cent of the people in the survey admitted to sharing a toothbrush with another person a habit that many see as a little gross (though not half as gross as using super glue and power tools to try and cure your dental problems!).

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