Within the last few years, mail-in braces and aligner kits have become the biggest trend to hit dentistry, or rather, patients wanting orthodontic treatment without the associated costs. In particular, social media has helped expand this type of braces as a viable alternative, where influencers and other social media users often rave about the results they’ve seen from this form of treatment. However, these products can actually produce more harm than good. If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a braces kit, then we’re here to warn you about why you shouldn’t.
What’s So Bad About Mail-In Orthodontic Kits?
Shifting your teeth is a delicate process that takes a lot of time to perform – for many orthodontists, it takes years of training and education even to begin working with patients with signs of crooked teeth. Not only that, orthodontics have to be trained in the products they’re using to prevent the possibility of damage and injury from the devices they use. For patients that are considering mail-in orthodontics, these kits present huge risks to your oral health, presenting gigantic problems such as:
- No Protective Oversight: Your orthodontist is there to protect your teeth and make sure that when you wear braces or retainers, they don’t move in the opposite direction or move incorrectly. Without this oversight, you can move your teeth too quickly and permanently damage your mouth.
- Risk of Greater Damage: The use of mail-in kits comes with the risk of greater damage, which includes severe cases of malocclusion, tooth trauma, and even tooth loss. While there may be positive reports, others report having their teeth heavily damaged because of the lack of oversight from their dentist.
- Untreated Oral Health Problems: Your dentist or orthodontist cannot treat any underlying oral health problems that may be present, and the use of mail-in aligners can also cause those problems to become more prominent later on, such as impacted wisdom teeth and root reabsorption.
- More Costly Overall: With the significant amount of damage, that can be more costly to treat than just with braces treatment. It will cost more to straighten your teeth and cost extra for additional repairs such as restorations, gum grafts, and bone grafts.
Another hidden problem with these types of treatments is the dishonest reviews, where many of the positive reviews for these kits are often favored and pushed to the forefront of the website. Any negative reviews and risks with these products often get buried and harm people overall.
Why Choose Traditional Orthodontic Care Over Mail-In Kits
Your orthodontist can provide you with the security and protection needed to keep your mouth healthy and provide ADA-standardized treatments that have been tested and clinically shown to improve your health. When it comes to your options, choosing your orthodontist is the safest and most cost-effective option you can give to yourself. For more information about your financing options, the best resource to learn more is through your orthodontist or general dentist so you can take better care of your oral health.