Repeated warnings from trained medical professionals about the potential danger of non-professionals installing braces are being ignored by scores of Jamaicans who are taking advantage of the cheaper price while putting themselves at risk.

In recent months the number of advertisements by persons offering to install ‘fake,’ ‘fashion’ or ‘cosmetic’ braces, at prices much lower than the professionals charge, has increased on social media, while more and more of these operators are offering their services in downtown Kingston.

It will cost just about $20,000 and will take no more than 20 minutes for new fake braces at an unofficial dental studio in a building that appears to have been abandoned by its owners on Orange Street in downtown Kingston.

“Me charge them $20,000 because me no have no papers but me a do this long time, so me can tek all 10 and 15 minutes to do it,” said the operator of the studio last week after he was convinced that the reporter making the enquiry was genuine.

While arguing out that licensed professionals are charging upwards of $100,000 to install braces, the operator argued that he is providing a well needed service to persons who cannot afford the “big money”.

“Me can do any design, rope chain or single one,” the operator added as he pointed proudly to his phone where pictures of several persons with braces of different colours and designs could be seen.

The studio operator also promised to provide care information to the persons after he installed the braces and added, “Dem will be fine if dem nuh eat nuh bone.”

But former president of the Jamaica Dental Association (JDA) Dr Heather Lawson-Myers, is again warning of the danger Jamaicans could be subjecting themselves to when they allow these untrained persons to add braces to their teeth as she noted that braces are not jewellery.

“The term fake suggests something temporary, reversible and not real, like a fake tattoo or fake nails. Fake braces aren’t really fake. They are real braces inappropriately used by non-trained persons and they can do irreversible damage to your mouth.

“Anybody who is trained to put in braces, an orthodontist, is someone who has gone through dental school, which is a minimum of four years and two to three extra years of training,” said Lawson-Myers as she warned about trusting someone whose only qualification is that they have been doing this “long time”.

“A dentist is a doctor who specialises in the mouth. An orthodontist has gone beyond that level and has received specialised training in how to move teeth around in the mouth so that they are moved in an orderly fashion. While it may be appealing to have braces in the mouth, anything that is going to move joints together with any type of wire is dangerous and you need to ensure that whoever is doing that has a clear understanding of how it works.

“There are dangers in moving teeth and bone that can lead to lead to malocclusion, that is when the teeth don’t fit together properly,” added Lawson-Myers.

She warned that this could affect a person’s jaw joints, their ability to chew properly and many other functional duties of the mouth.

Lawson-Myers further warned that the assurances given by these untrained persons about the lack of danger involved in the procedure are worthless.

“The best consumer is an educated consumer, the Internet is filled with information and if you are going to carry your car to the garage, or if you are going to get a medical procedure done, it is very easy to find basic information on what is involved and the basic questions that you should ask,” said Lawson-Myers, who is now a vice-president of the JDA.

She also expressed concern that the unprofessional persons offering to fit braces may be operating in spaces which do not have the strict infection control that is mandatory in dental offices.

“In the absence of proper infection control surfaces, aren’t sanitised, instruments are not sterilised and hand washing may be absent. Inadequate or limited infection control, while providers are using sharp instruments and wires, make persons susceptible to oral infections.

“Orthodontists are trained to handle emergencies. Their patients can also be assured that their offices are permanently set up so they can always be readily located,” noted Lawson-Myers.

She added that the trained professionals should have their certificates displayed in their business places while the Dental Council of Jamaica has a listing of all certified orthodontists.