On the eve of Chicago Dental Society’s Midwinter Meeting, a new survey reveals the alarming ways in which the city’s residents are bypassing professional help and trying to resolve their dental difficulties
Chicago Dental Society’s once-a-year midwinter meeting hosts up to 30,000 dental professionals who park their white coats in the cloakroom to sport 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 opted to perform operations themselves rather than seek an emergency dentist. London dental clinics like Ethicare have, so far, reported few incidents of patients trying to save cash during the economic downturn by performing ‘DIY’ dental procedures.
But in Chicago’s windy city it is a different ball game. A poll commissioned by the dental society found that 70 per cent of the city’s dentists have seen patients who attempted to treat their own dental problem before visiting a surgery.
Super Glue, Power Tools and Emery Boards
Apparently, these ’have-a-go’ untrained dentists favoured super glue to mend broken crowns and dentures.
Even more worryingly, there are accounts of Chicago citizens trying to administer a root canal with power tools designed for boring through walls and putting up shelves.
Amazingly, emery boards have been utilised to file chipped teeth – a procedure which must be exceedingly painful.
Painkillers
Some of these thoughtless souls have been overusing topical painkillers like teething gels to alleviate the pain of ‘operations’ which surely should have been left behind in medieval ages.
Sporting injuries seem to behind a lot of the dental problems which result in patients taking matters into their own hands. The survey revealed that basketball was responsible for 30 per cent of dental injuries – with ice hockey and baseball also carrying big dental risks.
Economic woes
Economic woes could be the trigger for people turning their kitchens, living rooms and work sheds into makeshift dental surgeries; 70 % of Chicago dentists reported that hard-up patients postponed dental care in 2010.
Teeth-whitening
Patients were also quizzed 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 way of making teeth bright and clean.
The perfect smile
Two out of every five people reckon 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 evaluating the perfect smile.
Social networking
The modern world seems to be having little effect on the way that people search for a new dentist. Only two % have discovered a dentist through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter – while 34 per cent preferred word of mouth.
Shared toothrushes
Fifteen % of the people in the poll confessed to sharing a toothbrush with another person – a practice that many see as a little unhygienic (though not half as gross as using super glue and power tools to try to cure your dental problems!).
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