The Latest TikTok Challenge To Ruin Your Smile

Social media users are back at it again promoting unsafe do-it-yourself dental procedures. Following several viral teeth whitening hacks (including dangerously abrading layers of enamel with charcoal powder, and mixing baking soda and liquid hydrogen, both of which I am warning you are dangerous), there is a new trend going around the TikTok social platform—using a nail file on your teeth. 

Sadly, many people on TikTok have been filing down their uneven teeth with nail files. “I’m going to file my teeth down with a nail file because they are not perfect, I have some ridges, and we’re balling on a budget,” explains one user before filing her teeth down. 

The trend has me (and other dentists) extremely concerned.  The process is unsafe.  Please be warned that it could cause extreme damage to your teeth.  Filing down your teeth will remove the tooth enamel. Enamel is the outer hard layer of the tooth structure, which protects the dentine and nerve of the tooth, and protects against decay.  If you file too much enamel away, you risk tooth sensitivity and even worse, nerve inflammation and irritation, and pain. This can then lead to further complications and need for dental intervention.

This damage will be permanent because unlike your nails which will grow back tomorrow, tooth structure does not regenerate.  This is precisely why we instruct patients on how to avoid unintentional tooth structure erosion.  Filing the teeth is nothing but intentional tooth structure erosion!

To anyone who is considering filing down their own teeth, I urge you to question why your teeth are uneven in the first place—a problem which won’t be solved through filing.  If you file them and you think they look pretty good, but you didn't solve the original problem, what are you going to do in a few years when they're uneven again and your teeth have even less (or no) enamel?  You will have already destroyed your enamel you can never get it back and it may even destroy the tooth.  A dead tooth means extensive and expensive treatment if you want to keep it.  Or, you could just have a gaping hole in your smile where your incisors should be.

If you are unhappy with the appearance or health of your teeth, the best thing you can do is see a professional.  A dentist will conservatively contour and define the edges of your teeth using high end dental tools, and also can protect the edges with a layer of bonding. 

No one should do any at home dental treatment themselves. Always seek professional advice, even for something like tooth polishing. We are equipped with the tools and the knowledge of tooth anatomy and biology to know exactly what to do safely. 

If you feel like you might have an issue with the look of your smile, don't try to do it yourself; you'll just make things worse.  Give my office a call at 860-561-2121, or contact us online.

Keep smiling,

Dr.Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD is a private practice dentist with offices in West Hartford Center and  New Britain, Connecticut.  She is a Clinical Instructor at the UConn School of Dental Medicine, and has won several awards naming her regional “Best Dentist” and “Top Dentist.” She is an active member of the Connecticut State Dental Association and the American Dental Association. Tel: 860-561-2121