Advice re: Dentist trip

[Dorian]

I went to a highly recommended Dentist for a check up & clean and polish. I asked him for a recommendation to make them look cleaner and whiter (some slight discolouration).

He took an xray and then told me I had good teeth and it would be a crime to veneer the front ones (a bit worn and discoloured).

He said I need to have train tracks for 18 months to get them perfectly aligned (they look ok but this would perfect) and then he'd get them whitened etc. He didn't seem to get that I might be self concious about this & made me feel awkward when I said this. I've just got here and have had lots of problems, train tracks would just make me feel self concious too. Train tracks would have been fine at 14 but I am a part time professional here and the idea of turning overnight into a mature ugly Betty doesn't fill me with glee (unless there is a real medical need).

I am not keen on train tracks! I have read somewhere about new invisible ones that fit behind your teeth. He said that these are basically pretty ineffective.

The long and the short of it was I thought he was pretty useless. He kept saying I had good teeth and 'I need to think about you'.

He then told me he'd forgotten I wanted them cleaned/de-scaled etc and we'd run out of time.

Not sure what to do next?

[gf]

the train tracks u are talking about are orthodontic brackets, also known as braces.

[serenitynow]

Why not get a second opinion from another referred orthodontist? If in the case that your teeth do require alignment, wouldn't it be better to align them now before they start shifting again in the future when you may need even more work done?

I know a couple of people who personally tried Invisalign (daily molds changed out every couple of weeks; not clear braces) back home (US) and while both had clear improvements to their semi-uneven teeth, one was recommended to follow-up the Invsalign treatment with actual braces to ensure a more accurate alignment. With Invisalign, they seemed to carry on with life as normal especially as you can remove the molds from your mouth when you eat, brush or drink whereas with braces, you definitely don't have that flexibility. In fact, their family members were unaware that had the molds in their mouths. Seems like there are a number of Orthodontists in Singaporewho you can first consult with before considering as I understand Invisalign is more expensive and could take longer than traditional tracks. This is just another option to clear braces.

[Dorian]

Thanks to all inc those who PMed me.