YAY!
Been wanting to get Invisalign since forever & now I've finally just started my first set!
I'm getting my Invisalign done at West Coast Dental! And no, it's not located in the West haha. They do have 2 outlets there, at West Coast Plaza & Bukit Timah Road, but I go to their newest outlet at Marina Square, which is much more convenient for me since I live in the North/Central area.
They're very busy at their 2 West-side clinics with waiting times of up to 2 hours, so the newest outlet at Marina Square is to cope with the increasing demand & especially for people who don't want to travel all the way there! It'll be very convenient for those working in the city area.
Marina Square Dental Clinic
Tel: 90303196
Raffles Boulevard #01-225
Marina Square S(039594)
Monday to Friday: 10am – 8pm
Saturday: 10am - 5pm
P.H. & Sunday: Closed
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First Visit
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For the first visit I actually thought it would just be an all-talking consultation, just see-see my teeth & so on. That's why if you see my pictures below... I didn't even bother wearing contact lens.
I rolled out of bed & went to the clinic lol.
This is because... West Coast Dental isn't the first clinic I've gone to keen to do Invisalign.
I actually went to another one last year, but they were really unprofessional & it stopped there.
Won't name them outright but initials are T.A. & located in the city/Central area as well.
At T.A., they made me go for 3 VISITS & there was NO progress.
First visit, talk talk blah. Second, take moulds for the aligners. Third, for nothing?! They basically asked me to go down after work, just to tell me that, Oh yeah we've got the moulds of your teeth, should be preparing the aligners soon. MY TIME FREE IS IT?! Was really pretty annoyed at all the inefficiency.
So for my first visit to West Coast Dental I expected a similar timeline (maybe minus the 3rd visit that was really for nothing - maybe they missed my face -) but I was really pleasantly surprised at how chop chop everything was! After it was settled that I was keen to do Invisalign, Dr Lim took the
1) X-rays
2) moulds of my teeth
& 3) cleaned my teeth in preparation for the aligners
And ta-dah! Slightly over a month later, I had my aligners! :D
Here's Dr Lim getting the moulds of my teeth!
#chapalangcomfydressing
Doing the X-Ray!
And so here are the moulds of my teeth from which they'll make the aligners!
Then teeth cleaning in progress...
I know they say teeth cleaning should be done once a year or something like that but... I can I do it more often?! The feeling is awesome! You'll be like... "wtf I never knew there were gaps between my teeth". I mean of course you knew, but you never felt them so distinctly with your tongue.
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Second Visit
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So this is where I get my first set of aligners! :D
I haven't explained at all what Invisalign is but I think by now everyone has a rough idea right?
It's basically completely transparent & works in a similar way to braces, except that they're not glued to your teeth since you can remove them to eat, brush your teeth & change to a new set!
Each set is worn for approximately 2 weeks & then you change to a new set. Thus each set progressively moves your teeth more & more towards the desired outcome, in a similar way to the regular tightening that has to be done with braces.
The main difference is that Invisalign is completely INVISIBLE, whereas braces are extremely conspicuous. I wore braces for a year when I was 12 years old, but my teeth shifted so much in the next 10+ years because I wasn't given retainers to wear (which keep your teeth in position).
Now that I look back on it, I realise I was basically scammed. I had no tightening done & no retainers. I basically wore an ugly wire on my teeth for a whole year for nothing.
My first box of aligners! This contains 2 sets, meaning they'll last me for a month.
The cases the aligners come in! It's important to keep them in their cases at all times (Xiaxue was very, very strict in lecturing me about this haha) because it's extremely common to accidentally throw away your aligners when you place them on tissue/by your plate/on your food tray/etc!
Trying on the aligners for the first time!
Very easy to put on & take off!
The black words on the aligners will say something like, U 01, which means Upper Aligner #1!
But it's impossible to mix up your aligners (between top & bottom at least) cause they're just too different since they're unique to your upper/lower teeth at that precise moment.
Whether it's possible to mix up aligners between weeks... That one I dunno & don't intend to try lol.
With Dr Lim & Candy, who will be responding to consultation queries!
By the way... I haven't mentioned that there's a TV in front of your seat to keep you occupied haha.
After all, it's pretty boring to just sit there. I wish hair & nail salons would all implement this too!
On my first visit I remember they were screening Ice Age 2 but can ask them to change/start over!
With Dr Lim again, the main dentist at West Coast Dental! He graduated from NUS Dentistry & has been practising for 24 years. He's very popular with his clients & I can see why! He's very gentle & very approachable & will explain things simply for you.
West Coast Dental at Marina Square!
The first time to West Coast Dental at Marina Square might be a bit confusing because Marina Square is so big & walk one end to another like can die one.... I don't really know how to explain it but I knew the area because I always identified this section to have more aesthetic services such as slimming, nail salons & waxing parlours than others.
Follow directions ok? See the mall directory.
Or you can call the clinic if you get lost!
I can only say that it's situated opposite Hippopotamus restaurant (fml I misspelt that)! It's not too far from Coffee Bean as well as a ton of other cafes which means I end up eating with each visit :x
I don't know if anyone noticed that I smile with my mouth closed ALL THE TIME.
I used to smile with teeth, but at some point (around 2 years ago) I noticed my teeth were shifting & I became really self-conscious because I felt they were so obvious in pictures.
And let me tell you... it's impossible to Photoshop bad teeth!
The most I can do is make my front 2 teeth slightly smaller but that was it. I couldn't make them look straighter, or overlap properly, or not make my smile look so Bugs Bunny T_T
#wouldlook10timesbetterifmouthwascovered
#buaytahanfront2teeth
What especially annoys me is that stupid gap/unevenness on the right side >:(
My bottom actually looks okay when you see it on its own.
But the top... annoying >:(
AND THE MAIN PROBLEM IS THIS.
When I close my gums, part of my bottom row overlaps the top row wtf!
My upper row USED to overlap the bottom fully (which is correct) but slowly it became like this wtf.
TEETH, U THINK VERY FUN TO KEEP MOVING IZZIT?!
And the worst part was that because I could no longer bite down in the same way, my lower jaw had to move forward to accommodate the new overlap. Which means... MAKE MY JAW LOOK EVEN LONGER & POINTIER %#&^@^$. Teeth, you will be the death of me.
*shakes fist*
Trying on the aligners myself!
Wearing the aligners!
My usual pursed-lip smile.
Can't see them right?
Here's my teeth close-up. Still not really visible!
Only if you look reallyyyy closely (which would be kinda creepy) can you tell there's a clear layer over the teeth, but otherwise it's inconspicuous. I've had my aligners for almost a week now, & no one noticed I had them till I removed them for meals!
Pretty much forgotten how I look like smiling with teeth. Looks so foreign to me now! O.O
P.S. By the way I thought maybe I was over-stressing things about my teeth shifting but I casually mentioned it to Qiuting & she was totally like YAH I can see it in all your pictures. So since then I stopped showing my teeth lol.
Onwards to a nice smile!
Oh some FAQs (I assume):
* Personally I should be wearing Invisalign for 7 months, but it will differ from person to person.
* My teeth felt achey for about 2 days, but it was frankly nothing compared to the first day of braces. I remember they hurt so bad I had problems eating & sleeping.
* YES you must be disciplined & wear them as much as possible! It's recommended to wear them for 22 hours a day. Just keep telling yourself the more you wear them now, the faster you'll be done with them! When I was tempted to take them out due to the ache, I told myself that if I did that it's just dragging out the achey feeling. Better 2 days of moderate ache than 7 days of ache-a-bit-here-there.
Plus the more you wear them, the faster your teeth will be shifting to their rightful positions!
* From what I know, Invisalign costs around $8k for the full course, but it will depend on person to person & how long your treatment is & so on! So the best is to go for a consultation for your teeth...
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Quote my name to get a special rate when you do Invisalign with West Coast Dental!
For the months of August & September, CONSULTATION IS FREE.
It's the best occasion to get all your questions answered as well as a quote on your teeth!
(+ + +)
Contact 90303196 to arrange a consultation!
P.P.S. Thanks to Xiaxue for the recommendation!
(+ + +)
Quote my name to get a special rate when you do Invisalign with West Coast Dental!
For the months of August & September, CONSULTATION IS FREE.
It's the best occasion to get all your questions answered as well as a quote on your teeth!
(+ + +)
Contact 90303196 to arrange a consultation!
P.P.S. Thanks to Xiaxue for the recommendation!
