"Sa halagang 500 pesos, may instant braces na agad si Renz! Nabili niya ito sa palengke at siya pa mismo ang nagkabit gamit lang ang nail cutter at super glue. Pero makalipas ang isang linggo, ang kanyang mga ngipin… biglang sumakit!"


Image credit: KMJS


DIY Braces: Is it safe?


According to the Philippine Dental Health Association, the occurrence and proliferation of DIY Braces and Retainers are a major problem. The number of cases involving people who underwent problems due to these DIY braces and retainers are increasing and alarming.





Image credit: KMJS

A lot of people want to have braces because braces are a major solution to fix crooked teeth and to have properly aligned set of teeth. Other than that, some consider it as a fashion statement and a trend.



But, braces installation costs a lot, ranging from Php 15,000 to Php 50,000. Thus, it is not surprising that people prefer to resort to DIY braces and retainers, even on the big possibility that it might give them harm and worse effects.



Image credit: KMJS

One of them is this woman who introduced herself as 'Sarah'.  According to her, she was offered with DIY braces for a discounted price of only Php 5,000. Having an uncompressed set of teeth, 'Sarah' accepted and agreed on the offer. However, the result of what she supposedly expected to fix her teeth was not meet. The DIY braces worsened it instead.




“Sobrang sakit po ng nararamdaman ko, hindi na po ako makakain. Kahit na po sa tubig [ay] iba na po ang panlasa ko. Lasang kalawang po. Sabi nga po ng asawa ko, ‘bakit iba na ang amoy ng bunganga mo hindi naman yan ganyan?’,” said ‘Sarah’.



(I felt severe pain [in my teeth], that I can no longer eat. Even in drinking water, I taste it differently. It tastes rusty. My husband even asked me, 'Why does your mouth smell different')



As a consequence, 'Sarah' had to have 3 of her front teeth extracted by a professional dentist. It was found out that chicken wires were used in 'Sarah's braces. Because of this, 'Sarah' asked the police to help find the seller who offered her the DIY braces.



The seller was arrested in an entrapment operation by the police, but she managed to be freed after she settled a negotiation with 'Sarah' amounting to Php 150,000.






Dr. Yvette Vinoya, Founder of the Dentists Against Dental DIY of the Philippine Dental Association, warned the public about these incidents.



“Once na nandyan na ang fake braces sa iyong ngipin, ang mga sirang ngipin mo ay lalo pang lalala. Karamihan dito nagcocontain ng lead na nakakasama sa ating kalusugan," she stated.



(Once the fake braces are in your teeth, your damaged teeth will just become worse. Most of these [DIY braces] contain lead that can harm our health)










Source: Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho