TikTok is the current home for many internet trends, and while most are harmless fun, some have the potential to cause some serious damage to participants.
Cast in point, the growing "shark teeth" trend, which has forced a dentist to recently share an important warning about, Insider reports.
Dental cosmetic procedures are a lot cheaper in countries like Turkey compared to the US and UK, but this can ultimately end up costing you more because of the damage done to your teeth.
Watch the video below to see an example of the shark teeth trend in action:At the moment, a number of companies are offering TikTokers free or reduced cost treatments in exchange for free promotion on the social media website, which has resulted in an increase in the number of TikToker's showing off their "shark teeth" prior to them being fitted with what they falsely believe to be "veneers".
Now, Cornwall-based dentist Dr. Emi Mawson has taken to TikTok herself to warn young people of the damage they could be doing to their teeth in search of the perfect Hollywood smile by getting "pegs".
"These are not veneer preparations," she said of the shark teeth, which have been explicitly shown by celebrities including Katie Price. "These are crown preparations and there's a big difference."
Young people's failure to not recognize the difference between crowns and veneers is concerning dentists because of the damage that this has the potential to cause for them later in life.
Dr. Shaadi Manouchehri, a London-based dentist, also shared a TikTok of an influencer showing off her "shark teeth," all while comparing them to a mouth of perfect crowns, and explained that "'she's going to have dentures by the age of 40."
Detroit-based dentist Dr. Zainab Mackie echoed these points on TikTok, explaining: "When you get veneers, most of your tooth is still there, only a little bit is shaved off. When you get crowns your teeth are shaved down to little pegs."
Prior to fitting veneers, dentists in the UK and US shave down the front of a tooth by a maximum of half a millimeter or not at all.
As many influencers have shown in their transformation videos, this is not the same as having crowns, which require dentists to shave off at least two millimeters of a tooth.
In the UK and US, dentists will not shave down healthy teeth necessarily, but because it "requires less skill", those who are traveling to places like Turkey are having their teeth reduced in this way for no good reason.
This could not only be costly for the individual, but it's a dangerous process to as it puts the tooth's nerve at risk of exposure.
Dr. Mackie explained: "This is only done if there were cavities to take out or the teeth were already broken."
When a person's tooth is shaved down to a "shark" form, it will need the crown replacing every ten years, resulting in a lifetime of expense for the wearer.
