Pui Yee’s New Smile: Dr Fauziah

One of the best times to get a makeover is when you are about to start a new job. Pui Yee was working in a bank in Kuala Lumpur and was about to start afresh in another bank. She had been asking around and looking through the internet sites for ways to get a brand new smile when she found this blog.

She read through the posts and dropped in today. Fortunately I had a patient reschedule his appointment, so Lyn immediately registered her for a consultation.

We started with taking a photo of Pui Yee’s smile so it was easier to ask her the question I always ask … “What don’t you like about your smile?”

I find looking at a photo was less intimidating compared to looking in the mirror. It’s easier as we can look at just her smile and not get distracted by anything else … also it’s kind of hard to look into a mirror all the time whilst talking!! 😉

I discussed at length about all Pui Yee’s options:

She could straighten her teeth with braces or with the latest ClearPath Aligners … but both would take at least two years and will probably involve taking out some teeth to make room for the front teeth to move into place.

Then we spoke about crowns and bridges … I explained how the teeth would be prepared and the time and costs involved. We have plenty of samples to show Pui Yee so she could see what a crown looked like as I explained the process.

Lastly we spoke about composite veneers and how they were done. I explained that composite veneers needed very little preparation which is why is was painless (no injections are necessary as it really, really doesn’t hurt at all) and why it can be done in just one visit. They are very artistically done fillings on the surface of her teeth to reshape her existing teeth so they look like they are straighter. I explained it was because of this that the composite fillings was so very much cheaper. I also reminded her that she could always opt to crown her teeth later even after doing the veneers if she so wished.

Pui Yee asked me a very good question, “Can I do the aligners after doing composite veneers?”

Hmmm … an excellent question! “Yes you could but your teeth would already look quite straight! People usually opt to do crowns on individual teeth or porcelain veneers (these are the same price as crowns anyway) if they want a more polished look.”

I drew a picture of her smile and drew in the teeth that would need to be veneered. Pui Yee would need 6 one her upper teeth and 5 on her lowers to get a more even look. After some more discussion, Pui Yee said she was more interested in the composite veneers.

“Okay … so when would you like me to do it for you?” I asked.

Pui Yee looked a little surprised. “Now! Have you the time?” she asked.

Yes, I did have time and we started immediately!

“It really doesn’t hurt?” Pui Yee asked just as I began … “Nope! I really have to work extra hard to make it painful so if you insist on having pain thrown in, I will have to charge you extra for pain!” I joked. Pui Yee smiled. “No pain then please!”

I completed the upper teeth and passed the mirror to Pui Yee.

“I really like it! Can we do the lower teeth too today?” She said whilst looking in the mirror.

I laughed and asked Pui Yee for permission to see just one patient before I started on her lower teeth. Pui Yee waited and soon we were ready to show Pui Yee her brand new smile … all ready for her brand new life in her new job!

“I look so different! Are there any restrictions in eating?” Pui Yee asked when I finished … she does ask excellent questions!

“You can eat anything you like. Just don’t open bottles with your teeth and don’t eat stones okay!” I smiled. “You need to get your usual cleaning in 4 months that’s all.”

We always recommend patients to get their check ups and cleaning every 4 months …  Why not the usual 6 months, you may ask. Well though every 6 months is what most dentist recommend, we find our patients do prefer every 4 months as there will be very little to do so the visits are much happier!

As Pui Yee left with her Makeover Albums with her ‘Before’ and ‘After’ photos, I reminded her that she could eat anything … she needn’t worry about breaking the veneers at all … after all they are guaranteed 100% for a month, that’s approximately 100 meals!

Enjoy your smile Pui Yee … and congratulations on your new job!