Survey Finds 2 in 5 People Try ‘DIY Dentistry’
A survey has found that two out of five people have experimented with DIY dentistry, with many eluding that it’s cheaper way to fix the problem than going to a dentist.
Ten percent of men said they had attempted to extract a tooth and five percent of women had done this.
The poll was commissioned by Oasis Dental Care and discovered that of the 38 percent who had attempted to perform a procedure on themselves, 26 percent said they didn’t feel it was necessary to go to a dental practice and 25 percent said they did it because it cost less.
22 percent explained it was due to dental phobia whilst 19 percent claimed not to have time to visit a dentist.
Other findings indicated that 7 percent of the men surveyed had their last appointment with a dentist was over a decade ago, compared to 4 percent of women.
According to the survey, 16 percent of men and women are not currently registered at a dental practice, with the same percentage not regularly attending check-ups, only visiting the dentist in the event of an emergency. People aged 25-34 were most likely to go to see a dentist in such situations.
Current guidelines recommend that adults visit a dentist between every three months to every two years.
Head of clinical operations and dentist at Oasis Dental Care Eddie Coyle finds it very concerning that patients are carrying out their own dentistry at home. He said removing a tooth is more complex than people realise and should only be done by professional dentists in a clinical and clean environment using tools fit for purpose.
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