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Monday 18 July 2016

3. Brackets and Full Braces

This is the last of three appointments which was fixed to get my braces fitted on. I literally woke up with excitement because I am not only getting my braces fitted on this morning but I am heading to JB with a friend after that.

I arrived on the dot and proceeded to register for my appointment at the B1 clinic.

Okay I am gonna admit, I haven't had time to write the post and as time passed, my memory literally faded and I can't remember much.

But I can still remember the JB trip vaguely because of how tough a time I had while eating the food. I ordered a poached egg with smoked salmon with rocket leaves. I literally left the greens untouched and I spent a realllly long time to down the entire meal.

The night market was pretty good! Had muah chee and the carrot cake which I think was still good for me, given that I had braces just in the morning.

Heh so that's all I can remember. Remember to watch out for the next post, I will make sure I write it down as soon as I can. Ciao!

Monday 11 July 2016

2. Metal Frame and final extraction

11th July (Mon).

I was back at KTPH earlier this morning to get my separators removed and have it replaced with the metal frames which will eventually serve as the anchoring point for my braces.

I was so worried that the separators might get dislodged that I really ate a soft diet the entire week. Thankfully it did not happen and I got it replaced with the metal frames successfully.

After that I proceeded to L6 to have my final extraction. It was about 9.30am and I got called in for the anesthesia soon. The same process again where I had to wait outside for 15mins for it to take complete effect. Yup, not a stranger to this anymore, having gone through it once last week.

I was so happy that this is the last time I am having any extraction (hopefully) for the rest of my life. Did I also mention that I looked up the dentist who extracted my teeth last week and she is actually the Head of Department for Dental Surgery at KTPH?  She was in charge of the extraction this time again (:

When I got home, I immediately changed a fresh set of gauze, the old one was soaked with coagulated blood and saliva. I remembered how the nurse had taught me on folding a gauze properly and did the same thing. Little did I know, I felt an acute pain through the socket and the bleeding began again. Mom passed me a cold glass of water and told me to gargle it to stop the bleeding. Yeah I remember when I was young and did the teeth extraction myself, I did the same thing too.

After a few cups of icy cold water, it did help a little. I then went to snooze for awhile (after the intense loss of blood from the extraction).

When I woke up, it was almost dinner time and the bleeding had almost subsided. I was able to drink and eat soft food normally again.

Can't wait to have my braces fitted on next Mon! :D

Monday 4 July 2016

1. Separators

Today is 4 Jul (Mon).

I have officially begun my journey on wearing braces. The schedule for today is to put on the separators and also to have two of my teeth extracted.

The purpose of these separators is to space out my teeth so that my orthodontist could place the metal frame which would be used to secure my braces.  The procedure for separators was very swift, it took less than 15mins to get it done (I have a very skilled orthodontist, heh!). Apart from the last separator which was so stubborn and didn't want to fit in between the gap of my shiny white teeth, everything went really smoothly. I had a total of eight separators fitted in between my teeth.

I then went up to L6 to wait for my extraction. I was called in soon after reporting. The minute I went into the room, I couldn't help but notice the long syringe of anesthesia.

Being a LA, the surgeon did not put me under the sleeping gas. Instead she injected the anesthesia into the gum, around the region where the surgical site will be. It was quite a painful one, whoever said there are no nerves in the gum needs to undergo one of these in their life.

It didn't take long before the numbing came into effect. I was told to wait outside the room for another 15mins (probably to ensure that the anesthesia works completely). I then decided to use the toilet. Bad choice. I missed my call back to the room and had to wait for another 15mins.

I was using my phone before I notice my number on the screen. Went in, and the surgeon injected more anesthesia into my gum again.

Then the surgeon took out something that looks sorta like a tool you use to crack the crab shells with, just much more smaller. The dental assistant then secured my head, which the surgeon then grabbed the tooth to be extracted with the metal thingy, and yanked at it. I couldn't feel anything of course, but I know it was a tough pull. Barely a few minutes, the first one was out. It was a peculiar feeling when the surgeon was pulling out the tooth, it felt like you are trying to pull something away from chewing gum, and I could feel the tissues separating itself from the tooth. Eww.

The second one was the same. So i'll just skip the description. I was given my extracted teeth (in a ziplock bag and a piece of gauze to bite on. Then I got sent out of the room to another called the Recovery Room. There I was given my Medical Certificate and I had to watch a video on post-surgery care. I also had a replacement of gauze before I made payment at the counter. Today's treatment costed me $2100-ish. $2000 for the downpayment of braces treatment and another $100-ish for the extraction of 2 teeth.

My appointments were already fixed so time to head home! Along the way, I picked up a mask to cover up my swollen face (pretty smart huh!)

Gonna come back next Mon, 11 Jul to extract another 2 teeth and put on the first set of braces. Can't wait for the transformation :D