I was a metal braces wearer a lot later than most people my age. I only started wearing them when i started my first job. Not only did i have to wear braces, but a head brace ala Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night vid. It was so atrocious that when i once closed the house gate for my father to go to work, he jested that i should hurry back into the house lest i scare the neighbours. -_-

Braces back then were torturous as any 80s kid will tell you. The metal spikes dig into the sides of your mouth, causing ulcers that bleed. The worse is when the metal continues digging into the ulcer itself, and there’s nothing you can do but… not move your mouth to avoid further pain.

Every time i tightened the braces i’d have to survive on a liquid diet cos my teeth and gums were too painful to bite into anything. That wasn’t so bad for me, cos i was covering events back then and didn’t mind having an excuse to drink ‘more wine because that’s my dinner’.

Alas, after years of diligence and pain, i did the stupid thing every braces-wearer should never do – which is to neglect wearing your retainer.

What made it worse is that i’m a teeth grinder. I didn’t know it was so bad till Clem patted my cheek in the middle of one night, and said, “Baby… stop it… it sounds really scary!” I never realized grinding my teeth produced a high-pitched shrieking sound of banshee proportions.

Some time two years ago, i realised that thanks to my dumbass negligence, my teeth had moved again and my front teeth stuck out in pictures, which made me quite self-conscious. SO MUCH FOR WEARING BRACES BEFORE! *bangs head on table*

I was on the lookout for a solution that didn’t require me wearing those hated braces again. I took note of a documentary i watched — on theatre child stars — where one had some sort of braces afixed from the INSIDE of her mouth, with pressure applied from a metal screw that was bolted into the roof of her mouth. Seemed kinda hardcore. And there were no dentists i knew of that did that in KL anyway.

Then Invisalign came into town and i noticed a few people starting on it. Invisalign are ‘invisible braces’ that promise not to be obvious, not to be inconvenient, etc. And i toyed with the idea of getting it in my mind. Mostly to do with the money too. I already spent thousands (when i was young and earned a basic salary) paying for my metal mouth, did i want to pay more for something that i shouldn’t be paying for because i stupidly hated my retainer?? Ugh.

In the end, i got a semi-sponsorship and decided to go for it and put the money down to ‘investment in health’. I just feel that teeth are so important to me… and i don’t want to have my bite get worse and worse as i get older, then end up dishing out even MORE money for it later on in life!

Okay, and also, i’m vain and i’d like my teeth to be straight again, thanks.

I started going to MyDentist on Jalan Ipoh, and it’s really easy for me to get to from the Penchala Link heading towards Jalan Kuching. No traffic lights, and no parking problem cos they have allocated spots in front of their dentistry for clients. I go there pretty often cos i have to change the mold for my Invisalign every 2 weeks to a month, so that it gradually shifts all my teeth to perfect alignment.

I am in love with the dentists there. Dr Melissa, Dr Alex and Dr Kar Shen were the main dentists that took turns attending to me every time i went, and i love talking to them! I always chatted and joked with them, and they made me feel extremely comfortable.

When i had my teeth polished a few months ago, i accidentally jerked and (i think it was) Alex (who) asked me, “Oh! Was it painful? Are you okay?” Truth was, i was so at ease that i FELL ASLEEP hence the sudden jerk. :p

I used to think i’m paying these dentists too much money to work on me, but now i feel that it’s all justified. They take such CARE and detail in their work that i feel they’re making my teeth into a perfect work of art. All these THINGS have been done to my teeth to perfect my bite, which i never thought of before. It’s not just the braces that moved my teeth back gradually, but they’d measure and take photographs, and get me to bite on some paper to see whether the teeth touch, and delicately shave different teeth down so that they’re all the same shape and size… It’s really awesome to know that i made a wise choice in going to this dentist. I foresee myself going to them years from now cos i just love them so much for what they did! (Thank you! If you ever read this :p)

This has turned out to be a long post about loving my dentists -_- I really just wanted to post about how STRAIGHT MY TEETH ARE NOW!

TEEHEE

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