A man suffering from severe facial swelling and pain has appealed for help after social media users accused him of using AI to fake his condition, while a doctor said there is no strong evidence that tooth-picking causes oral cancer.
On 9 August 2026, a Facebook user known as “Mes, Little Prince” posted about a 31-year-old man he had helped after finding him with severe swelling on the left side of his face.
The man, identified as “P’Poo”, reportedly lives with his partner in a small room in an unspecified province.
In his post, Mes quoted the man as saying: “Toothpick – tooth decay. It hurts terribly. I don’t know how much longer I can live. If you come to see me next time, you might not find me here anymore.”
The man also said that after he posted photographs seeking help online, some people accused him of editing the images or using AI to deceive others.
“I don’t know what to do,” he said.
According to Mes, the man’s problems initially began with tooth decay. Food became trapped around the affected tooth, prompting him to repeatedly use toothpicks to remove it.
The area subsequently became inflamed, and a large growth developed on the left side of his face.
Mes provided the man with some financial assistance for his immediate living expenses.
Plastic surgeon Dr. Aon Chatraphon later posted a video explaining the case and addressing claims that frequent tooth-picking could cause cancer.
He said he suspected that the man could have oral mucosal cancer that had spread towards the tooth roots, based on the appearance of the condition. However, he stressed that the diagnosis could not be confirmed without pathology results.
“We still don’t know the pathology results of this case. We don’t know what type of cancer it is, whether it originated from the tooth or from inside the mouth,” he said.
Dr. Aon said there was no strong scientific evidence showing that tooth-picking directly causes oral cancer.
He explained that the main recognised risk factors for oral cancer include alcohol consumption, smoking and HPV infection, while poor dental and oral hygiene can also contribute to oral health problems associated with cancer.
He said the man’s tooth-picking habit and the development of the growth could have occurred at the same time without one necessarily causing the other.
“This could be a coincidence,” he said, explaining that the cancer may already have been developing while the man was frequently using toothpicks, leading him to believe the two were directly connected.
Dr. Aon warned that claiming tooth-picking causes cancer could create unnecessary alarm and spread misinformation.
“The chance of developing oral cancer from tooth-picking is extremely low. There is also no evidence showing that picking at a tooth causes this type of cancer,” he said.
Dr. Aon urged the man to seek medical treatment as soon as possible, noting that the growth had become very large and appeared to be considerably advanced.
He also expressed his support for the man and wished him a speedy recovery.
