A DENTAL technician in Chirk has warned people about the dangers of DIY dentistry, after a rise in the number of people taking dental matters into their own hands during lockdown.

With many dental surgeries still closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is believed more people are attempting to conduct treatment on themselves at home.

Peter Harling, who works as a dental technician at K2 Ceramic Studio in Castle Road, has urged people with any teeth problems during lockdown to seek medical advice where possible, and to refrain from methods of self-treatment.

He said: “You must consult with a dentist if you have a problem.

“If someone has toothache, then the recommended protocol is to get in touch with your nearest NHS dentist or dentist hub that has been set up.

“They generally advise antibiotics and then depending on the level of emergency, they’ll arrange to see you at whatever point they can.

“It’s really really dangerous to try anything yourself – the root can break up when you’re actually going to do an extraction, and the tooth might be live.

“You might split a tooth in half and expose the pulp chamber, so you could put yourself in an awful lot of pain and danger.

“You could also damage any bone around teeth or even the palate of the mouth, so you really could cause yourself untold pain.

“So 100 per cent you should always liaise with a qualified dental surgeon that’s registered with the General Dental Council for anything like that.”

Peter believes the risk of treating yourself for dental issues could make the problem severely worse rather than making it better.

He explained: “These guys go through five years of medical training to be able to do these kinds of things.

“They know exactly what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and they will always take an X-ray before even attempting an extraction for example, so they can see the angulation of roots.

“It’s a very, very skilled thing to do and definitely isn’t recommended for laymans.”

During the pandemic, Peter and his team at K2 Ceramic Studio have been producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS and care home staff.

Rules have been re-instated to ensure all PPE produced is CE approved, meaning Peter now has to wait to have their products CE approved.

“We’re still [making PPE],” he said. “We had a slight setback because the rules on making PPE, which had been relaxed during the crisis to allow people to get stuff out there, have been brought back.

“This is because some PPE created might have been done without the correct acetate, which is a clear visor material.

“This might seem fine, but when people are using other forms of plastic, people wearing them may suffer from vertigo because they’re getting a strange reflection back.

“So now, to ensure safety of those wearing it, people have to apply for CE approval.

“I’m part of a small group which has applied for this – and it means we just have to conform to British standards, so the actual visor itself has to have no sharp edges, must use the correct acetate and other things.

“We had already been doing that anyway, so we’ve still been allowed to manufacture one and send it off to get tested to confirm it conforms to the standards.

“The government has set up a system where this process can be fast-tracked.

“So fingers crossed we get the CE approval and can continue helping people.”