[Part 2] My Braces Journey with 32 Pearls Dental @ GLO Damansara

It was quite a journey... it really was. 2 years with permanent brackets stuck on my teeth. How can that not be life changing? The aftermath though... was definitely worth it.

If you've not read the previous posting on my journey to straighter teeth, please do so Here. Part 1 of this 2 part series simply depicts the story of my initial orthodontic journey, for the first 6 months. This write-up continues on from there.

Before you stray further, here're some of the reasons why I enjoy going to 32 Pearls Dental Clinic.

☑️ Appointments can be confirmed and done at ease via whatsapp (no more unpicked up calls) 

☑️ Nurses are very friendly

☑️ Dentists are professional and experienced
Last but not least, ☑️ Parking at Glo Damansara is a breeze, mere steps to the clinic from the parking lot

Here's a close-up with Dr Tong Soo Huan, resident doctor of 32 Pearls Dental Clinic, and Dr Chai Kit Lu, associate dentist at 32 Pearls Dental Clinic. My dentists are both so pretty.

CONTACT 32 PEARLS DENTAL

Address: Level 3A, GLO Damansara, Jalan Damansara, TTDI 60000 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: +6013 3872271

Email: 32pearls32pearls@gmail.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/32pearls32pearls/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/32pearlsdental/

Based on my very own personal experience, there are three main stages to my 2 year orthodontic journey, to be exact, I wore my braces for a total of 23 months.

➡️ Straightening : First 10 months. Most enhancements made during this stage, ie. tooth-shaving, tooth-rotation, wire-changing, bracket-reposition

➡️ Structuring : The in-between. This stage is the most painful for me, and involved a lot of rubber bands

➡️ Stabilizing : Last 6 months. Tiny enhancements, mostly on stabilization of the aligned structure 

Here's a good look at my teeth, Before - After braces.

In this post, I will be highlighting some of the major milestones of my journey.

MY PRO-TIPS

☑️ Key word - Discipline
☑️ Go for dental appointments every 2 to 3 weeks

☑️ Wear those rubber bands!
☑️ Remember to brush after every meal, to avoid cavities, and you may develop sensitive gums along the way, but that's perfect normal. Remember to brush!

#9MONTHS APRIL'19 : CLOSING THE TINY GAPS

As a continuation of my previous journey... apart from the rubber bands, I also had a power chain (a chain of really tiny rubber bands) bind to my teeth - sometimes in 4's; sometimes in 6's. Basically what a power chain does is to speed up the process of closing the tiny gaps, and to make sure the structure stays. It turns yellow and stain quite easily, so I had it changed once every fortnight.

Showing you a slightly yellowish power chain that is due for change.

#10MONTHS MAY'19 : CLOSING THE OPEN-BITE

This is possibly the most painful and sore part throughout my journey - rubber band for restructuring. So while my teeth have pretty much straighten over time, I still have an open-bite to close. Open-bites are basically the gaps between the upper and lower part of the teeth. I wore different size of rubbers-bands, at various different angles, at different stages of my treatment. This step requires A LOT of discipline. When I eat, I take it off, but have to put it back immediately after I finish; when I brush my teeth, I take it off, but have to put it back immediately also. THE LONGER YOU WEAR IT, THE BETTER AND FASTER THE OUTCOME WOULD BE. And as for me, to be honest, I lack a little discipline, because really, it makes something basic like talking and opening of my jaw quite difficult. But because of that, my entire journey dragged for another 3 months. Please wear your rubber bands! 

Before                                                                                      After

#12MONTHS JULY'19 : MAKING WAY FOR FINAL TIGHTENING

For a bit of final adjustments, I had my lower front tooth shaved down even further, to pave way for the tightening of the lower part of my teeth. Throughout the pass year or so, I had multiple tooth shaven to a smaller size. Two reasons - there was minor crowding so there weren't much space for alignment to begin with, and I did not have any tooth extracted.

#14MONTHS SEPT'19 : JAW STRUCTURE REALIGNMENT

At this phase, I had my jaw structure realigned, to make sure the center-line of my upper and lower to be the same. My jaw and chin structure have always been a bit crooked, leaning more to the left. So here, I had to wear 3 rubber bands, to gradually move my entire jaw to the right. Having said that, I think my jaw was just to stubborn to move and it went back to my original structure a little bit after that.

I also had a metal chain hooked to the upper part of my teeth, replacing the rubber bands that were used earlier, to further stabilize the structure of my teeth. I had this until the end of my treatment.

The rubberband technique for jaw structure realignment.

Before                                                                                 After

#21MONTHS MARCH'20 : STABILIZATION

I didn't have anything major done in the last couple of months, apart from a wire change for the lower part of my teeth, and metal wires to further strengthen and stablize the structure.

One thing I noticed however, was that as my teeth started aligning, it made space for the movement of one of my wisdom tooth. Now, there's actually a gap between my last tooth and my wisdom tooth, so food does get stuck in between the gaps sometimes. I was told that if the wisdom tooth continues to move, it may cause movements to the rest of my teeth. Although it's not much of a discomfort for me for the time being, I do foresee a removal in the next 3-6 months or so.

This picture was taken on the last day of me wearing braces.

#23MONTHS MAY'20 : DE-BONDING

The entire de-bonding process took only about 30 minutes in total, 10 minutes was spend on braces removal, 15-20 minutes on fillings, and the remaining 5 minutes on getting a mould impression for my retainers, a plastic aligner that I have to wear full time for at least 3 months, and then 8 hours at night for the rest of my life.

My teeth felt naked, a good type of naked, and I'm extremely happy with the results. Things turned out better than what I thought it would be. The one thing that clearly surprised me would be the resin-base composite fillings that were used to fill up the tiny gaps in between my teeth. I never would have thought that fillings can actually be used to change the shape of my teeth.

Remnants of my ceramic brackets, post de-bonding.

Scaling and cleaning of my teeth, post de-bonding.

Filling in between the gaps, using a resin-base composite filling. This stuff is amazing.

Getting a mould impression for the bottom part of my teeth.

In-house making of my retainers/aligners at 32 Pearls Dental. I got my retainers few hours later on the same day.

I have also documented my de-bonding process on video. Subscribe and watch it on my Youtube channel below.

Thank you 32 Pearls Dental for giving me this life changing smile.