The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health warned dental professionals of at-home remedies being used to treat oral health issues.
In a new report, the nonprofit found that 53.8 percent of adults in the U.S. lack consistent access to dental care and may resort to self-prescribed home remedies. Researchers found that those who had not visited the dentist in the last two years were 10 percent more likely to use dangerous home remedies than those with a recent dental visit. More than 3,000 respondents indicated they experienced one or more oral health symptoms in the last year. Of those respondents, half said they used one or more home remedies to manage oral health issues.
The most common unsafe home remedies:
- Tobacco poultice
- Pain medication prescribed for another purpose
- Illegal narcotics
- A needle to lance a gum abscess
- Aspirin powder applied to the gums
- Alcohol/spirits