DIY Dentistry

Do-it-yourself can be a money saver or the source of major trouble. Most of us have experienced this while trying to fix electrical wiring or doing a paint job. In these instances, if things go wrong, the greatest damage is to your wallet and your self-esteem. Do-it-yourself dentistry, however, poses not just a financial risk. The results can be quite painful.

When I was on emergency service last Sunday a man in his early thirties came to my practice. Two days earlier he ran into a doorpost breaking his right premolar in half. As a trained car mechanic he knew what to do. He took some acrylic resin left over from a body repair on a vintage car to form a temporary crown. The rough edges of the stump that used to be the tooth were ground of by means of a drill. Finally, he fitted his homemade temporary crown with super glue.

For a day everything seemed fine. He only had some misgivings about the shape and colour of his “new” tooth. The slight twinge would surely subside he was convinced. But it did not. Instead he found himself in agonizing tooth pain and ended up in my dentist’s chair.

Using a low-speed drill designed for home improvement in place of a dental drill (up to 800 000 rpm) and the application of super glue proved to be major irritants for the tooth’s pulp. The “temporary crown” had to be removed. Since super glue becomes much harder than cements normally used for dental purposes, it took almost an hour. The next ninety-minutes or so were spent on a root canal, setting a post and core and fitting a truly temporary crown.

Had the patient chosen to come right away, the matter could have been resolved in less than half the time, e.g. with a ceramic restoration. So, please, don’t do dentistry at home! It may hurt more than just your pride.