Friday, February 4, 2011

My Braces Story

july 09 2
I never thought I needed braces, you know, until a few people actually advised me to wear them. By ‘few’, I mean about 4 to 5 people. Even then, I didn’t immediately run to the dentist to get braces on. Thinking about it, maybe I should have.
It was 3 years ago, exactly on Chinese New Year, when my family and I went to Pulau Kapas. So towards the end of the trip, this photo was taken: (ugly picture alert)

The double chin and the almost sneezing expression kills appetite.
That picture was the push that I needed. Let me tell you, the experience of going to the dentist was the most heroic thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. I hate dentists. I totally ate up the scary dentist stereotype and that’s why I didn’t wear braces sooner. If it weren’t for my own free will, no way would I end up on the dentist’s chair. But in total desperation(vain –_-), I went to the dentist. Alone.
My family was in Pakistan at the time. I chronicled it here and here. I could’ve brought someone with me anyhow, but thinking that I might chicken out if they do follow, I decided to brave it myself.
The dentist was a kind man, he briefed me on the procedures before attempting to pull out 4 of my teeth. I’ve never had needles touching my gum before that day and you can just imagine how nervous I was. I stopped the kind dentist just as he had the needle positioned near my gum, and told him to brief me again.
15 minutes later, gum numbed, 4 teeth out. Drove back home, cotton pad jutting out of mouth like a moron and showing grandma the holes where my teeth used to be proudly.
diagram
Four teeth pulled out, two on each side.
One week later, braces on the bottom row. Two weeks later, braces on top row and that’s how I officially became one of the braces club members.
July
Three months after putting on braces, there are still lots and lots of gaps of where my teeth used to be. Looks a bit frankenstein-ish. Tip for the first 3 months: Don’t show teeth when smiling.
September
Five months later, my front row teeth is pushed in a bit but the gaps are still there.
april 09
One year after, aligned and gaps closed but still not quite there yet. Gums still swollen.
dec 09
20 months: teeth aligned tight, no gaps, no protruding gums. Just waiting for dentist to take off braces.
feb 10
22 months.
……………………………
………………….
………….
……

done
2 years of wearing braces, and they’re off!
Let’s do a comparison, shall we?
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Before. (No braces yet!)
Nove 09 After.
Because my problem was the protruding teeth, wearing braces kind of changed my smile. Before wearing braces, smiling without teeth was awkward.
…………………….
P6170358 Before.
CIMG9964edited After.
To be honest, smiling showing teeth was also awkward lah before.
…………………………………

Ultimate before and after.
Anyways, people usually come up to me and ask how much does it cost to wear braces? Mine costs rm4.5k. It sounds expensive but you pay rm200 per month for two years. Mine took a short while, but some wear them for 3 years so that’ll only cost about rm100 a month.
For me, it was definitely worth all the trouble of food getting stuck in between braces, and explaining to little innocent children as to why you have metal on your teeth.
You’ll hear this alot. Beauty is pain, baybeh.
Take care. xoxo.


Update 2012: For those who are interested to know who's my brilliant dentist, it's Dr Tay Mok Seng. His clinic is Dr Chong & Rakan which is at Taman Segar, Cheras. Simply google to get his contact details. Peace out! Love xx 

27 comments:

mogobja said...

cant wait to take mine off too :)

Adilah said...

When you take em off, dont stop smiling =D

Me said...

i like buck-toothed girl better.

Adilah said...

yelarrr sure u do mr sarcastic

Sabrina said...

you have a beutiful teeth, white and tersusun. =) jeles2.

mine berterabur and i have these two obvious fangs. bukak mulut nampak berterabur, tutup mulut nampak fang. can u imagine? wait till we meet. Haha.

and still afraid to go to dentist and wear braces. hmmph.

ade pantang larang people said. is that true?

Adilah said...

ooo i like fangs~ ala Avril lavigne~! I dunno anything about pantang larang except that you wouldn't wanna eat solid stuff the first week because it hurts bad.

Other friends wearing braces that I know have lost a bit of weight because of their braces.

It's also a menace to eat meat in public. Somethings bound to get stuck in between your braces. So last time, after eating I would go to the toilet to flush out everything in between braces. Sounds gross?

Don't ever skip brushing teeth while wearing braces.

I can't think of anything else. Actually getting braces is not so bad la~ My cousin was 13 when he started wearing them.

magdelene said...

are those damon/ self-ligating metal braces or just normal metal ones?

Aurea Robillard said...

Wow! Is that sunshine or is it just you smiling? =) You look prettier now after taking off those braces. It sure did help you gain self-confidence. So don't hide those pearly white teeth. Flaunt them!

Az Zehra said...

urs and mine gigi sblm pakai braces mcm same lahh..

hey just wanna ask, ;]

and im wearing it now its about 2 years and half

i see the result la but x memuaskan
mcm still gigi or gusi tu 'terkeluar'

nak taw, u ade buat any protruding surgery x??

and d u have any idea psl surgery tuh??
cuz ive been searching for the surgery price and till now i don't
get the accurate price

and dlm gmbr ke-3 yg itam puteh tu
u pakai braces ade brape dawai??
due ker??
nmpk mcm due
sbb mine satu jer,,
kalau u punye dawai tu due, is it doc yg suro or u yg request untk buat 2 dawai tu?


I LOVE YOUR SMILE LA!!
AND CAN'T WAIT TO GET A SMILE LIKE URS!!

Adilah said...

hehe~ thanks.
Kadang2 tgk case to case basis.
I x buat additional surgery watsoever,
sebab pakai braces mcm dh tolak sume gusi msuk dlm.

& psl results, tgk doctor. Some doctors buat cincai, I xtau pun possible, tp my fren ade yg pkai sampai 6 tahun, ade yg pkai braces tp tercabut masa makan.
Make sure yr doctor tu buat braces elok2.

Dawai satu je, tp yg nmpak mcm dua tu sbb getah dia.

Hope this helps!

Anonymous said...

Hey , I just wanna confirmation from u, u said that the cost is not that expensive. Just hv to pay 200 per month for 2 years, rite? But how bout the wang pendahuluan? Is it we still hv to pay 200 or more than that? I'm just curious bout this, hope to hear from you asap :) a lot of thanks . .

Adilah said...

Hi cik anon :)

Usually depends on the dentist.
I had to pay RM500 deposit because they did a bunch of stuff in the beginning where they pull out your teeth etc.

Just talk to a dentist and theyll let you know. Hope this helps!

AiN said...

sakit tak mase mula2 nak masukkan braces tu?

Anonymous said...

assalam adilah :)
saya pakai braces jugak. almost a year, belum nampak sgt perubahan sbb gigi agak teruk. hehe. uska bace pasal pemakai2 braces, dan macamne bentuk gg after dorang pakai.


suka tengok perubahan awak after pakai, cantik dan tersusun :)

Adilah said...

AIn: Mula2 tak sakit, tapi malam tu sakit menyengit. Lepastu xbleh makan nasi seminggu.

Seri Ayu: Salam! hehe tq, good luck!

Miracle Pastle said...

hello there, saya ada plan nak pakai braces sebab recently saya perasan jaw bawah saya senget, and it affects my face symmetry. I thought the reason because of my teeth la, my teeth tadelah teruk cuma senget2 je. You rasa wearing braces can fixed my lower jaw? Or do we need to go for surgery, boleh tak saya tahu klinik mana awak pegi.

Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

boleh bagi tahu tak dentist yang pasang your braces...thanks

Cody Zieba said...

You’re quite the comedian, Adil! Your post is funny but so true! And I’m glad you decided to get braces. Your teeth and your smile are beautiful. But it’s also for your oral health too. Misaligned teeth can make it hard for you to brush all the nooks and crannies of your teeth, which can make some spots vulnerable to plaque and tooth decay. Keep smilin’!

Anonymous said...

Salam...saye plan nak pkai braces...nak tnye...b4 awak pkai braces tu lame x appointment utk psang braces?

ym said...

hey there :)
may i know you spend how much in your braces? i mean totally how much?
cause i plan to putting braces but bad things is my parents not allow me to do so.
my teeth was same like you. its not that ugly but rabbit teeth.
i hope after take out braces my teeth as pretty as yours, and yep i afraid of dentist too :(

Kristal Byrnes said...

Congratulations! It’s so great to see the difference the braces made, but even better to watch the progress. Did your dentist require you to wear retainers after the braces came off, just to make sure that your teeth don’t lapse? I wore braces for nearly 2 years as well, and had to wear retainers for about 7 months afterwards just to be sure.

didie said...

this is officially my fave braces blog post. so funny yet so informative. cantek giler gigi!

Adilah said...

Thanks dearie :)

Winner said...

Yeah it is really informative :D . But unfortunately I cant really afford to wear braces , you are really fortune to have braces to wear :D . And I really jealous you :( . Somehow guys can visit this blog http://www.dentistskl.com also , this blog got alot of information about dental stuff . Hope u guys enjoy it :D

Anonymous said...

a similar dental procedure in Singapore cost S$4,500/- just info for concerned folks

Anonymous said...

S$4500/- vs RM4500/-
Singapore vs Malaysia

nisanasuha said...

Salam n hye!
Boleh taw tak kos.semua ni yg u buat?
Ade dentist recommend kt i utk buat braces sbb gigi sgt berterabur. Tp i just nk buat dkt2 je, kt area cheras ni.
Thx for replying !

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