Friendly Teeth

Hazel before

Hazel had read about the makeovers we do on this blog. She called in for an appointment and the very pretty Hazel came in today.

Hazel is a newscaster with RTM … naturally as a newscaster her smile is very important! The TV cameras are trained on her all the time … it’s her job!

Dr Kayethri, our new superstar dentist, attended to her … she started off asking what Hazel wanted us to do for her … Hazel said she was concerned about her lower teeth.

Hazel’s lower teeth had a small gap which could be easily seen on close-ups and the teeth were uneven … she wanted us to give her a beautiful smile!

No more gap and uneven teeth now

Dr Kayethri (we call her Dr Kay) very easily sorted out the gaps and the uneven teeth in just an hour.

Hazel was amazed when she saw the transformation!

She told Dr Kay that she had lived most of her life with the gap and uneven teeth … she could hardly believe that it would take just an hour to sort it out and it didn’t cost a lot either!

Hazel said that her previous experience was that dental treatment took a long time and was very costly.

Yes, she was surprised … and yes, she was very pleased!

Dr Kay … you made this very pretty newscaster even prettier … she now has a beautiful smile that she can show off on camera!

Way to go!

Khairi looked menacing before we started!

Khairi called Amy today and as luck would have it, Amy could squeeze him in during our lunch hour at 1pm.

He came in with two other friends just before 1 … we were still a little busy, so thankfully they were quite ok to sit for a bit, read the magazines and drink the coffee Damalis got ready for them.

At last, Khairi came in … he had extremely short hair which prompted me to ask,”Are you a cop?”

He laughed and said, “No, I’m with the MACC … and I’m nice!”

Khairi's smile from the side

I just had to smile … duh, even though I usually try to not read the newspapers (I get so depressed at all the bad news that fills our newspapers! ….Someone died, someone got robbed, someone got scammed etcetcetc) … but the MACC is certainly an organization that gets a lot of bad publicity … so even I got his quip.

I laughed and asked him what he wanted me to do.

Khairi said he wanted a clean up and to close the gaps between his teeth. I was told later that Amy had shown him our blog so he had seen pictures of our makeovers!

A brand new sparkling smile!

I told Khairi that one tooth was obviously dead, that’s why it had darkened …. he needed to do root treatment as the tooth was probably quite brittle.

But I could sort out the colour and gaps first and so we could do the treatment on the root in the next few visits. Khairi would leave with a nice smile!

I explained I needed to use 4 composite veneers to even out the upper teeth and close the gaps on each side too.

As I had squeezed him in and he needed to come in again for the root treatment, I suggested we just do the tops first and do the lower teeth (he’ll need 3 composite veneers for them) in the next visit.

Even the side view is nice and even now

So with that treatment plan agreed upon, we revved up the magic wand …

We had to do some preliminary preparations on the darkened tooth first. It isn’t too hard as we have many opaquers and blockers to brighten the tooth up … it was just one short step extra but would make a huge difference to the final colour of the makeover!

In about an hour … after the clean up and the veneers, Khairi was ready for the mirror!

He was amazed! … and immediately asked me when he could come in for his lower teeth.

We printed out the Before and After photos for his Makeover Album and set the next appointment.

I reminded him that even though the composite veneers had disguised the dark tooth, he still had to get the root treated … I hope he remembers!

Until next month, Khairi … I promise to straighten the lowers and sort out the dead tooth too … enjoy your new smile!

Hasnah before we did our magic

Hasnah saw our blog whilst surfing for a dentist for her makeover. She made the appointment and walked in a few days ago for some magic.

When we examined her, I told her that I could easily sort out one side of her smile but the other side would look much, much nicer if we did a 3 step procedure.

Hasnah looked just a little disappointed when I said that.

She told me she had traveled all the way from Kulim, Kedah where she worked.

The hidden tooth

I told her that I understood her predicament … the only thing was, doing the whole makeover with composite veneers would really not be so nice as the tooth would look very short.

That’s when Hasnah said, “OK Doc, I trust you … let’s go for the bridge then.”

I always feel so moved when people say that … that they trust me.

It’s a huge responsibility that I take seriously … I will never tell someone to do something … I will tell them the pros and cons, the good and the bad for each procedure … but they have to choose.

Hasnah with her temporary bridge and veneers

So when a patient asks me for my advice and they say, “OK I trust you.” It is a huge responsibility to have them not regret whatever they choose.

You see with composite veneers it’s easy … the preparation is so minimal and the tooth is hardly affected … and it’s much cheaper than crowns. Besides you could always decide to crown the tooth later, when your budget permits, or when you just want too!

But when Hasnah decided on a bridge, I had to take out a tooth and prepare her adjacent teeth for crowns … there’s no turning back!

Yes, I feel the weight of responsibility to make sure she loves the makeover.

No more missing tooth

Hasnah also works something like 500km away from KL … I am responsible for making the next few days until her next visit comfortable and she remains looking great … it’s not like coming back is as simple as a 15 minute ride to the clinic!

So with those thoughts at the back of my mind, I began to work our magic.

I did the composite veneers first whilst we chatted and then began to do the bridge …

Soon everything was done! The veneers were in place and the temporary bridge had been polished to a nice shine … it was time to let Hasnah see her new smile.

A pretty and natural smile

Hasnah looked in the mirror and gasped, “I love it! I have straight teeth! I can hardly wait to show this to my family. Thank you!!”

I smiled … whew! I was so happy too!

Yes, she does look good … and taking the ‘After’ photos was so much easier …. Hasnah now can smile wide for the camera!

See you in a few weeks Hasnah … we’ve got Round 2 next

… and I promise .. it won’t hurt at all.

Amran was told that his case was too difficult!

Amran found our blog and emailed me saying that he had seen a dentist who had said his case was too difficult to treat … the dentist said that it would cost him RM20K to correct his smile!

Amran included a photograph of his smile in the email … it was complicated …. yes indeed, but I emailed Amran back saying that I would be happy to see him just to talk … and we could see if composite veneers would work for him.

So Amran found time from his very busy work schedule to come in for a consultation.

We talked at length about his particular case … I told him that we couldn’t ‘jump’ his upper teeth over the lowers (which would be ideal!) but with composite veneers on 6 teeth on the uppers and 6 teeth on the lowers, he would definitely look good!

From the side

We did a mock-up to show him how it would look like … the teeth position remain the same but now they no longer are small and crooked!

When I told him:

• that it would be painless …
• that we only needed one visit …
• that it would take me an hour …
• that it lasts …
• that it costs RM3K (he needed 12 composite veneers!) …
• that there was a guarantee …
• that he could always come in for any adjustments …
• that he need only brush his teeth daily and visit a dentist every 6 months for his scaling to maintain the veneers  …

and he looked at his reflection with the mock-ups in mild shock …. Amran made the appointment.

What a HUGE difference!

So today was the big day … Amran took a day off and came in all ready for his incredible (and supposedly impossible   ) makeover.

We did the tops first …. that took about half an hour. Then I asked his permission to quickly treat another patient whilst he could talk to Idah who was assisting me … it was a good break (actually, I was ever so grateful he let me treat the next patient as I was running late!)

Amran could ask all the questions he had whilst Idah explained everything to him … you know how you have all these questions running in your head and can’t ask or talk whilst the dentist is working, right.

No gaps!!! And it didn't take 2 years!!

Then I was back … and we resumed with the lowers …

The lowers took another half an hour … all I had to do then, was polish the composite veneers to a beautiful shine.

At last I was done … yes, I fussed over Amran … I wanted to give him the smile he always wanted! … especially since he was told (and believed until he stumbled on our blog) that he was a difficult case and it would take big bucks if anything at all could be done for him.

The whole Team stayed back to watch Amran’s transformation … we went back an hour later than usual (as we also had Faiq’s Makeover earlier that afternoon) … but we all wanted to see the finished makeover.

No gaps!!! Yay!!

It was so, so, so, satisfying to see Amran’s huge smile!

He looked absolutely different … and was so happy too.

Thank you Amran for trusting us …

and thank you to my Team …

we did it ….. together!

Faiq before

Faiq was surfing the web for an orthodontist when he stumbled on this blog. He saw the post Lim’s Turn For His Makeover and emailed me two weeks ago, asking if I had done the makeover via braces.

I replied saying that it was through composite veneers and that he had it done in the same 45-minute appointment … the makeover had cost him less than RM2K.

Faiq immediately made the appointment!

He came in today. When we talked about the possible treatment plans, I explained that we could do the makeover with composite veneers but in his case, because of the distance one tooth was tucked behind the others, veneers wouldn’t look very nice …

A side view before we waved the magic wand

His smile will definitely look much nicer than before, but won’t be as good as it would if we did a mixture of composite veneers and a bridge.

Faiq was just a little hesitant when I said I’d have to remove the tooth that was hidden …. but when he asked if he’d leave the clinic with all his teeth looking super straight, I said, “For sure! I’ll do a beautiful temporary bridge and the composite veneers too. You’ll leave with a really nice smile!”

Faiq with the temporary bridge

So Faiq said he wanted the bridge/composite veneer option!

The Team went into high gear … we had another makeover to do after Faiq and then there were also another 3 patients scheduled for normal fillings too … including a retired ex-ambassador for Malaysia!

We did all the preliminary procedures and began … Faiq was quietly still apprehensive that I was going to remove a tooth but was the model patient as I worked.

When I was ready to do the temporary bridge, I ever so casually removed the tooth … Faiq wasn’t even aware that I had done the part he was scared of most!

He actually burst out laughing after he realised I had already taken out his tooth!!!

Faiq's new side view

We continued and soon he was ready for the magic mirror … he was going to see the ‘almost finished’ makeover … that is the new smile but with a temporary bridge first … this was the moment everyone anticipates and dreads at the same time …

He looked into the mirror and laughed again! “I look so different! My teeth are all straight! Wow!!” he said laughing.

Even the lower tooth had been straightened with a composite veneer!

I reminded him that it was only a temporary bridge … that the actual bridge, when ready, would look even nicer.

He was already happy with the temporary bridge! Now he’s going to have a really nice smile to welcome all the guests to his sister’s wedding next week.

We said our goodbyes and set the next appointment after printing the Makeover Albums for him to take home.

As he left, Faiq bumped into a friend who was in the waiting room  … one of the patients I was going to see next was a friend of his!

What a small world this is.

Enjoy your smile Faiq … and have a great time at your sister’s wedding next week!