A dentist has warned that cash strapped members of the public who have taken to performing their own dental procedures could be doing serious damage to their oral health and are the latest victims of the credit crunch.

Amateur dental procedures on video clip website YouTube include a man putting a temporary filling in a tooth cavity, as well as giving a list of materials needed for the procedure, while another shows a woman doing tooth whitening by brushing hydrogen peroxide straight onto the teeth. There are also many videos of people pulling out their own teeth at home.

According to Dr Prav Solanki, founder of the website http://www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk, people are using their own methods and materials and putting their health at risk by getting amateur advice from YouTube rather than a qualified dentist.

'Our dentists have reported more cases of people turning up with damaged teeth and gums after trying to do their own teeth whitening,' he says. 'There are long NHS waiting lists and because there is a reduction in availability on the NHS for private dentistry, people can't afford the treatment. It is quite probable this is the reason they are trying to do these treatments at home, but this could cause irreversible damage to their oral health. The credit crunch means people are trying to save money but you have to draw a line, the message is simple: don't try this at home.'