Invisalign Replaces Plastic Surgery

When i started the Invisalign journey with i.Dental, i did not expect this. I did not expect my face shape to change. For the better.

In less than a year, the Invisalign treatment turned my jaw shape into the much coveted V shape of Korean actresses. Without surgery! 

I was shocked at the face shape change! Braces didn't do that.

My teeth was so misaligned that when i take pictures, i look like i'm missing a tooth!

#SexyFAIL

Here's how it works (at least from a patient point of view, not as a technician). 

1. Visit i.Dental for an assessment including an x-ray to ensure you are suitable for treatment.  Receive a video visualization of treatment process. Dr Cheng will explain how Invisalign will change your life. From a horse face to a human face. 

2. In the same visit, you will do mould impressions if you decide to proceed. At the same time, Dr Cheng will put on "attachments" that suit your tooth colour. You will have these little hooks on your teeth that doesn't drop off, and almost invisible to the eye (but you can feel it) to "hook on" the aligners. These extra fixtures are almost neglect able. You will forget you had them as it becomes part of your mouth. 

Matching my tooth colour

Do you see the squarish "attachments"?

3. Receive 50% of your aligners. I had 33 sets in total. In the beginning, i changed one every 2 weeks. Later, it accelerated to changing weekly. There were some weeks i totally messed up the order. I panicked but nothing could be not fixed by Dr Cheng. It was very assuring that he told me i'm not doomed. Although i wouldn't advice you to jump the order on purpose!

No one could tell i had Invisalign on. No one could tell my teeth was being fixed as we speak. No metal teeth embarrassment. No skin cutting accidents while kissing or others. No cut corners of my mouth! 

No monthly visits to the dentist required! It was such an independent process that eventually when i had to relocate, i easily administered to myself just by following Dr Cheng's advice! 

iDental was even on email response if i needed to consult or check in every now and them on my progress. They responded quickly to the photos i send them of my teeth. Virtual consultation! I've never had that with any dental clinic. Although i also wouldn't advice you to do that but just sharing how excellent iDental's service is. 

4. Finally, my entire process is complete, just slightly under a year. I then return to iDental to get my nightly retainers done that i'll wear as long as i live. Dr Cheng inspected my results and is rather pleased with his magic. I am too!

If you want to know the difference between braces and Invisalign (as i've done braces before too), i've compared them before.

Finally, if you want to know how much it costs and if you are a suitable candidate, call iDental! There is a first-time consultation fee of $20 - $60 depending on duration. If you decide to proceed with an x-ray to complete the check, there is an additional $220. The total investment for Invisalign starts from $4000 depending on the number of aligners you need based on the severity of your teeth, but they are payable with installments. The Invisalign aligners are made in USA with a patented technology. You will need to find a local reputable clinic to help administer and watch your progress. One mis-step can make your teeth worse! My friend went to a clinic in Orchard (i don't know which one) and towards the end of her treatment, her teeth actually sunk into her gum!!!! That was irreversible :( :( :(

My dentist, Dr Cheng Eng Wah, from i.Dental Surgeons won the Best Individual award for 2013 and Invisalign Platinium Elite Award for the last 5 years.  His clinic on Robinsons Road is dedicated to Invisalign treatments only.

My new teeth. Better to take pictures with!

Braces Vs Invisalign

Its been 3 months since i received my aligners. From my visit to Dr Cheng at iDental to collect them, i felt he sincerely cares about making me more beautiful.

The nurses pre-empted me on the discomfort i'll feel in the beginning and advised how to mitigate it. Key rule to slipping on your new aligners without much discomfort is to wear it before bed. In your sleep, your teeth and gum gets accustomed to it. 

I'm not foreign to these plastic things, having worn braces 13 years ago, but in the beginning, i felt the discomfort and i was slurring in my speech. I wasn't drunk, but due to something unusual in the mouth, it takes a week to adapt. There were times i felt like removing them, throwing it to the ground and stomping on them but the Invisalign case taunted me with these text imprinted "Optimal wear 22 hours a day".

I found out that Invisalign wearers were more than i knew. These buggers were keeping secret what's making them more beautiful because its invisible! 

I also found out that many of them were ex-braces patients in our teens! Why did our braces dentists not tell us retainers are for life? This made us our teeth shift over the years and will continue to do so, undoing years of metal teeth pain. 

Having been through both braces and Invisalign, here're my comparisions: 

1. Time Spent Reduced Drastically

I spent 3 years with metal teeth and it meant 1 visit a month to the dentist to clean, tighten and change the rubber band colours to my fancy. Halloween was purple and black, Christmas was red and green. Retainers have to be worn for a year 24/7 (other than eating), thereafter nightly wear after removing the metal wires. That's 4 years in total having something metal then plastic in my mouth. 

My Invisalign treatment is estimated to be less than a year, visits to the dentist drastically reduced because i could self-serve.

Now that i've relocated overseas, i could take with my all 33 sets of aligners and continue my treatment from a distance.

2. Don't look like an awkward teenager
I remember how self conscious i was when i was wearing braces. Conscious of food stuck in between the wires, it didn't help the wires sometimes cut my gums or the corners of my mouth too. I felt like Ugly Betty. Here in Thailand, i noticed many adults wear braces. I felt so proud i'm one step ahead of them with Invisalign. I don't have to look like an awkward teenager. I can make business presentations and command the room with confidence.

Mr Bean knows my Invisalign secret. 

3. Intimacy with no blood lost
I'm exaggerating here. I didn't make out back when i had braces, but i always had the impression that it wouldn't be comfortable kissing someone with metal teeth. I would know, because it wasn't comfortable feeling the metal against the insides of my lips! Then, there are the risks of cutting your lover. Again, this is me dramatizing braces and i didn't have a personal experience but i have a phobia of that happening!

With Invisalign, you can take it off before making out. Optimal wear for Invisalign is 22 hours though, so keep your make out session short and sweet!

Interested to find out more how you can have this transformation?

Idental is having organizing a free talk to field Q&A. You can get a smile assessment after. 

Date: 27 January 2015 / 26 February 2015

Time: 7pm (Registration starts at 6.45pm)

Venue: Capital Tower, Level 9, FTSE Room

Sign-up link: http://bit.ly/identalinvisalign

Straight Talking with iDental

I was in denial up till 3 months ago. I insisted that my teeth was straight despite having this front tooth sticking out like Nanny McPhee. 

It's probably negligible, until i had an x-ray done during my consultation with iDental and the picture showed an obvious protrusion! 

On closer look at glamour shots like the below, i look like i'm missing a tooth!

After further examinations, Dr Cheng Eng Wah also announced that my bite was not perfect. He asked if i could bite noodles with my front teeth. "Of course i can!" I said a little too loud. He raised his eyebrow at me and said, "Your front teeth can only bite udon, but not ramen."

Dr Cheng is full of funny quotes.

I learned that Invisalign can correct all sorts of teeth situations like fangs, overbite, underbite and overcrowding in a shorter time and with less self-consciousness (no metal wires to make me look like an over-due teenager). iDental recently opened a dedicated Invisalign clinic at Robinson Road and i'm blown away by the jovial service, Dr Cheng's quotes and the astounding technology that Invisalign promises to deliver.

What to Expect with Invisalign
On my 3rd visit to iDental, i was assigned my aligners. The first 2 visits were consultation, X-rays, mould impressions and 3D imaging. My treatment comprises of 33 aligners and i am to change them every week with regular visits to Dr Cheng for monitoring. I was very excited and paid attention to wearing and caring for my aligners. I was given 2 cases, one blue and one red. The blue is for me to place my invisible braces during meal times while the red is meant to keep the previous aligner (just in case). I diligently brought the blue case with me everywhere as i once wrapped my plastic retainers in tissue paper during meal time and accidentally threw it away! It was such an expensive mistake.

The green thing is called a 'chewy', something that I also have to diligently chew at every insertion of the aligners to ensure a tight fit. Not adhering to any of these clear instructions would impact the Invisalign results. Dr Cheng gave me a sneak preview of my transformation! I love seeing him replay them over and over again above my dentist's chair when i make a routine visit to iDental.

There will be attachments made to the teeth, which had people ask me what're those when they are close enough. 

However, the best part of Invisalign is that the treatment doesn't impact the way i look, no ugly metal teeth! I have heard of horror stories of friends who went to random clinics for wisdom tooth surgery and had a bad experience. In respect, i think it is important to go to a reputable clinic who knows what they're doing with Invisalign. 

The Makeover Expert

I once went out with a dentist and he begged to fix my teeth.

There i was, sitting across the dinner table, thinking i look damn fine, wondering why he's fidgeting. After some minutes, he held my hands, stared me in the eye and said "you're so beautiful but there's this one flaw. Your front tooth is not aligned. " I shrug and said "you can fix it if its for free". He rubbed his hands in glee.  

Probably the most expensive gift i've got from any first date, an aesthetic tooth fixture was what i got. I like practical presents. 

My recent visit to i.Dental gave me a revelation. How the entire oral and nasal passage plays a huge part in defining beauty. Other than the obvious of straight teeth making one look better, how one breathes will define your jawline. 

Beauty is a straight line from nose to lip to chin. Seen the "beauty test" that went viral lately? Netizens have been using their fingers in an L fashion to see how they measure up.

Well, that's not a myth i found out at i.Dental. 

We used a ruler to check for a straight line from nose to lip to chin. Mine is straight with a -1mm difference, close to perfection. The lower chin to lip should be a subtle S curve and supermodels are at an angle of 90 degrees. So am I.

By now, my dentist have me over the moon. Never would i have expected flattery that makes my heart skip a beat would be FROM MY DENTIST! 

Dr Cheng also explained how do "horse faces" come about. He said sinus that is genetic could create a person who breathes through the mouth. As a result, his/her gum over time descends resulting in an unpleasant look.

This, however, can be corrected with dentistry, if at a very young age when bone structures are malleable. Dr Cheng told me how he changed a son's look drastically from his father, because of the hereditary sinus!

Try consulting a dentist's opinion before deciding on any kind of invasive surgery that aesthetic clinics or plastic surgery offers. My mum brought me to a dentist at 13 for braces to make me beautiful :)

Me with braces

However, i was a bad kid. I didn't know/listen to wear my retainers religiously, thus my otherwise straight teeth have moved. But there's a second chance! With INVISALIGN. 

What is i.Dental Invisalign and how does it work?

• i.Dental Invisalign is a new approach to having straighter teeth, utilizing a custom-made series of aligners created exclusively for any individual.
• Wearing these aligners will gradually and gently shift your teeth into the desired place (approx. 0.25mm per month), based on the exact movements your dentist or orthodontist plans out for you.
• You just change into a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks, until the end of your treatment period (ranging from 6 months to 24 months)

What is the Invisalign process like?

1. Consultation with the Dr Cheng Eng Wah, an Invisalign specialist.  Taking a series of x-rays, photographs and mould.
2. A detailed analysis of facial and teeth structure and if INVISALIGN is necessary. You'll enjoy this candid and comfortable conversation with Dr Cheng as he informs you of "the definition" of beauty without being pushy.
3. Getting my teeth throughly cleaned and a more precise mould is made.
4. Option to review 3D imaging and treatment plan.
5. Collect Invisaligners!

As the Invisalign journey may be a life/ image changing one, i needed to choose the most qualified and experienced dentist in the practice. Someone who completed the most number of cases in a year compared to this peers would be a safe bet. 

I found that Dr Cheng Eng Wah from i.Dental Surgeons won the Best Individual award for 2013 and Invisalign Platinium Elite Award for the last 5 years.  His just launched his new clinic on Robinsons Road dedicated to Invisalign treatments only.  

i.Dental's staff were hospitable and service oriented. They were so polite, gentle and accommodating that I never enjoyed a visit to the dentist better. 

How much does Invisalign cost?

A down payment of $800 will be collected when brackets are first placed. An additional $1500 will be collected from Invisalign patient when first aligners are issued. The remaining amount can be paid via installment on a monthly basis. Credit card 0% installment is available too. Initial consultation fee is $20 to $60 depending on duration of consultation. Should you decide to proceed, an assessment of your teeth that includes consultation, taking X-rays, photos and study model cost $220 excluding GST. 

Find i.Dental on Facebook or make an appointment at 6323 2813 or 168 Robinson Road,#09-13, Capital Tower.