Most dental professionals will admit one of the hardest parts about practicing dentistry is getting patients to come to the office. Frequently, it’s not until the patient is in such severe pain that they can’t chew, or better yet, talk without deep aching in the mouth and jaw.

Sometimes, you’ll get that stream of patients who mix together a random assortment of things from their junk drawer, shove them in their mouth and pray the ailment fixes itself. There are a few more common (and horrible) dental home remedies used to replace in-office services and treatment.

Professional whitening is one of those luxury services that most people would love to purchase but can’t afford. So, if a patient can come up with a quick and cheap substitution, the temptation to try it out often outweighs the risk. For whitening, we’ve heard of a number of homemade replacements for the professional service. Shockingly, Comet is among the list of contenders. Other bleaches and peroxides are on the list, too, and could become problematic for the patient.

Other than testing out weird and potentially dangerous at-home whitening products, we’ve heard of patients fixing a broken crown or cracked filling with Super Glue or even plumbing putty.

What weird, strange and/or creative “at-home” remedies have your patients conjured up? Have they actually worked or were they the start of a disaster in the mouth? Share your stories in the comments section below!