Shafiq before

Shafiq is a professional photographer. In his job, I imagine, looking at faces and capturing smiles is an every day affair!

Shafiq didn’t like his own smile though. His front teeth had a slight gap and the lateral incisors were just a little crooked. His lower teeth were very obviously crooked too.

He had been asking around amongst his friends about doing something to correct his smile. Many told him that braces was the only way to correct his smile … well, it’s not the only way, as this blog shows you…. but it is the most common.

Shafiq was worried that it would hurt … his friends said it did hurt when the rubber bands were changed but, well, a simple painkiller would sort that out … besides it was only for the first few hours when the bands are first put in.

From the front

So Shafiq asked around and got different quotes from dentists in KL.

One day he met a friend who told him to check out this blog … this friend hadn’t been to our clinics but had heard about the work we do!!

… the best part is, Shafiq said, “He already had his braces put in but he told me to check out the blog to see if veneers would be better for me!”

Wow! Shafiq was referred to us by a friend who hadn’t even come in to the clinic!

Shafiq checked it out and after reading thorough a few posts, immediately called up for an appointment!

No more crooked smile!

This was last week!

And so on Valentine’s Day, Shafiq came in to jazz up his smile.

He asked if it was going to hurt …. I said, “No … not one bit!”

He asked if it was going to take a long time …. I said, “No … it would take about 45 minutes.”

He asked if it would last … I said, “Of course it will … just don’t eat bones, stones and metal with your front teeth!”

All straight now ... and it took less than an hour!

He asked if he could eat crabs … I said, “Shouldn’t be a problem unless you are planning to crack the shell with your front teeth!” We both laughed.

So we started the makeover … I needed a short break to treat Nathaniel, an autistic child that needed his clean up … so the makeover took a little longer than the 45 minutes … (thanks Shafiq for letting me do Nat whilst you took the breather!)

When Shafiq looked at his new smile in the magic mirror he was delighted!

He kept saying, “This is my lucky day! Thank you!”

We printed the Makeover Albums and bluetooth-ed the photos to his phone for  good measure.

As he left I said, “Shafiq, this is a Valentine’s Day to remember!”

Thank you Shafiq!

Haslina before

Haslina works in the collection department of Hong Leong Bank.

One day, as she walked past us on her way to the medical clinic next door to us, she noticed our signage for the blog.

Curious, and wanting to do something for her smile, Haslina checked out our blog.

She emailed me asking about composite veneering and its cost. I explained (in the email) that though the gap could be closed with just 2 veneers, usually the two teeth (the lateral incisors) would need to be veneered too … that is, we usually needed to ‘balance’ the size of the four front teeth.

Haslina had too-long looking front teeth and sharp laterals

I also suggested she make the appointment and I’d examine her so that I could advise her better as I would be seeing her for the first time.

I didn’t know that Haslina actually worked in the same building as the branch in Menara EON Bank!!

It was so easy for Haslina … she didn’t have to take time off!

Haslina made the appointment to coincide with her lunch break … it was going to be a lunch break unlike any other …

Haslina told her co-workers that she was going to see the dentist on the lower ground floor … and she was going to come back from her lunch break a totally different looking person!

Not bad for lunch break transformation

Imagine that!!

I saw Haslina and sure enough she did need 4 composite veneers … yes, there was a gap between her front teeth … but her lateral incisors (the one’s next to the front teeth) were what we call ‘peg shaped’ … a sort of pointy, sharp looking.

It was easy … really! The makeover did not need injections or removal of any teeth … and it took about 45 minutes too!

When we had finished polishing everything to a beautiful shine, Ayu passed the mirror to Haslina.

A perfect smile!

As she took the mirror she said something under her breath, “Now for the magic!” and looked into the mirror!

Yes … it did look like magic! Haslina looked totally different.

I joked, “Do you like it? If you don’t I can remove it.”

Haslina laughed, “No! It’s beautiful … I love it!”

And she did look different, don’t you agree!

We printed her Makeover Albums and said goodbye … I reminded Haslina that Amy would be calling her tomorrow to see if she had any questions and to ask if she was OK.

She went up to work again … with a new smile!

Now that’s a great lunch … non fattening … and totally transforming!

FR before our magic

FR was surfing the web and found this blog. He immediately emailed us saying he had crooked teeth and wanted a makeover/whiter smile but didn’t want to ages for results.

We set up a consultation time … putting aside an hour as he said he may want to do it in the same visit if his budget permits.

He came in yesterday saying he just drove in from JB!

FR asked me what I could do for him …

I took a deep breath and said I could look at the treatment from 2 angles:

• 1. From the angle of a specialised doctor where I’d tell him his ideal treatment plan which would involve a lot of fancy procedures and impress/confuse him with a lot of important, clever words. Most jargon “gobblygook” he won’t understand (and may be too shy to ask) but because it sounds so clever, he’d be impressed.

or

• 2. I’d tell him what I can do based on what I think he wants … straight looking teeth and a nice smile!

There's a tooth hidden and chipped front teeth

I told him I was going to talk to him from the second angle … from what works for him!

With that set, FR and I discussed the treatment plan … I suggested we sort out the front teeth first and work on the other side later … and I said it would take just 4 composite veneers but we need to remove the canine …. and I promised no pain!

FR laughed and said, “Yes! Let’s do it!” when I told him the cost.

We worked whilst chatting about work and it turned out that Faizal had consulted other dentists and to my surprise told me that the reason why he drove up from JB was because he had the exact experience I described when we first discussed the treatment plan!

A transformed smile!

All the dentists he consulted told him that the ONLY way was to have braces done and it would take several years … none had offered an alternative which would sort out his concern immediately.

Worse still, he had the experience that the treatment plan they offered was non-negotiable, take-it-or-leave-it, I-know-best sort of conversations.

Wow! I always felt that doctors/dentists would make their patients feel so much better heard, if they actually discuss things with patients … and really, really listen.

Before long FR was ready for the mirror ……

What a different smile

He broke into a huge smile and said, “Wow! I can hardly believe this!”

He was so happy that he decided to do the other side too … after all he drove all the way from Johor Bahru .. that’s 500 km!

The Team went back into action and prepared to do the immediate bridge.

This procedure took a little longer … we didn’t think we were going to do both sides or we would have done the preparations simultaneously … no problemo! The Team were happy to do it for FR.

And once the temporary bridge was cemented, FR was even happier! Now his smile was totally transformed! …. We did it!!

Nice!

We printed out all the photos for his makeover albums to take back with him.

As he left, I reminded FR to resist looking into the rear vision mirror all the time when he was driving! He had a long drive back to JB!

Imagine that … FR drove 500km to see the dentist, got his transformed smile … then drove 500km back home again … all in ONE DAY.

FR you are amazing!

Until we see you for Stage 2 of your bridge … keep smiling!

Alif and Pn Lelawati after we re-implanted his tooth

Alif is 12 years old. He’s a popular young boy with plenty of friends. Yesterday, Alif was playing over at his neighbour’s house … they decided to have a water fight!

You remember how it is … a water fight! You get a hose and spray all your friends with water and horse around … it’s fun! Everyone gets wet … everything gets wet …. and the floor gets slippery like a slippery side.

The trouble started when Alif fell down … he totally knocked out his front tooth! The whole tooth came cleanly out of his mouth.

He went home with blood everywhere. He was drenched in water and blood was all over him too.

His mum, Pn Lelawati, was besides herself … she didn’t know what to do … Alif’s dad got mad and scolded him … he was upset! I don’t blame them for getting upset … but kids, well they’ll be kids.

Poor Alif was even more upset … his mum consoled him and told him she’d figure out what to do … that she’s make sure everything would be OK.

Today, at lunch time, Pn Lelawati who works in Menara EON Bank, called us to ask if there was anything we could do.

I asked her, “Do you still have the tooth? Is it broken? Can you bring him into the clinic? If we re-implant the tooth within 24 hours, it may re-bond with the bone!”

She said she’d get time off and rushed home to Bangi to get Alif and his tooth. They came in an hour later.

I examined the tooth … yes, the root was not broken but the crown was just a little chipped. Alif however had three other problems besides the missing tooth …

• The socket where the tooth got knocked out was clean … no broken bone fragments … whew! That’s a good sign.
• … but he had an extra tooth just behind the socket … ah, that’s why his tooth was sticking out … it’s no wonder that the tooth got knocked out!
• … and he had cavities on the teeth on either side of the socket tooth … now I must clean and repair the cavities before I re-implant the tooth that got knocked out.
• … and he had chipped the other front tooth too.

I explained to Alif’s mum that I could re-implant his tooth but:

• I had to root fill the tooth first … that’s no problem as it’s easy! I have it in my hands!
• The tooth may rebond but it’s root will probably resorb (melt away) after a few years … I have reimplanted 4 other cases and they lasted about 4-6 years before the root melted.

The ONLY REASON why we would re-implant a tooth that gets knocked out is, to allow the bone to grow normally.

Alif facial bones have not matured to adult size yet …. we want his face to keep growing naturally.

You see Alif is only 12 years old … he’s just a kid in Primary school

• … he’s too young to wear a denture
• … he’s too young to do a bridge
• … his facial bones has not grown fully
• … if we don’t do anything, his teeth will collapse inwards and there will probably not be enough space to place a bridge later
• … his mid-line will probably shift into the space left by the missing tooth

His mum said to go ahead. “Do what you need to do.”

I explained everything to Alif … he was amazing! He was totally cool … he didn’t even make a sound when I gave him his injections and just squirmed a tiny bit when I cleaned out the cavities.

Alif watched me do the root filling … he watched me clean out the inside of his tooth, dry it and fill it. He didn’t even make a sound when I took out the extra tooth! In fact he laughed in relief when I had taken it out.

I re-implanted his tooth into his bone, repaired the chips and cavities and stabilised everything so the tooth couldn’t move.

He was an absolute angel.

When we finished, I gave him the mirror and he broke into a huge smile! He got his tooth back!!!

His mum thanked us as she left … I reminded her that I needed to take x-rays next month to see how the bone has ‘taken’ the root filled tooth.

Alif could eat anything too … though he may want soft food for a day or two.

Alif and mum were smiling as they left the clinic.

… and I? Well I know I did a good job today.

I managed to give a young 12 year-old his tooth back ….

and he has a good chance to grow up naturally with TWO front teeth!

I love my job!

Jailani before

Jailani emailed us when he saw a post in this blog late last month. He asked me several questions and made an appointment to come up to Kuala Lumpur for a consultation.

As he worked and lived in Singapore, we had to figure out a treatment plan that worked for him … that was the main concern … it was difficult for him to take time off from work.

Jailani is an extremely reserved young man.

He is a poet, a writer and works with one of the universities in Singapore. His work scope included Tamil language poetry and literary works!

Jailani with the temporary bridge

It was so hard to get him to smile for the “Before” photos … Jailani was not used to smiling.

The treatment plan we agreed on included some composite veneer work and a bridge. This meant that Jailani would have to travel 2 more times to KL … but we could space the visits apart …. and I promised him that he would have a really nice temporary bridge between the visits.

A really nice looking … and strong! … temporary bridge is crucial for any immediate bridge work. Most times dentists would make a denture for the patient to wear whilst the bridge is made or whilst a tooth that had to be removed heals.

I usually (actually always) prefer to make a temporary bridge for the patient … after all they get to get used to having a bridge in them and can eat normally!

Anybody who has ever worn a denture will tell you getting used to the denture base is the hardest! Imagine having a plastic plate permanently covering the upper part of your mouth when you eat … it take a while to get used to it.

Jailani now!!

We did the composite veneers first, then the bridge preparations and made his temporary bridge.

I spent a long time making sure his temporary bridge was nice and strong … it had to look good and function like normal teeth when he ate for the next few weeks … and he’s in Singapore! That’s a whole country away!!!

At last I was satisfied … and so was Jailani! He looked absolutely different! Yay!!

So now we had to wait for a few weeks for the gums to heal.

Last week Jailani came in for his second visit … I removed the temporary bridge and took the impressions for his permanent bridge … made him a new temporary bridge and said goodbye again!

Yesterday was THE day! … The day that Jailani gets his makeover completed.

I was excited to see how the final bridge would look once cemented … we removed the temporary bridge and fixed the permanent one …

Perfect! What a relief! … Yes, even after more than 20 years of doing this, I still get excited/ nervous/ anxious when I change someone’s smile.

We took the ‘After’ photos … it was nice to see Jailani could smile more easily now … and he’s much more relaxed too!

And yes, the reserved Jailani ….he is now my friend!

See you next month, Jailani!