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Invisalign in Bangkok

I’ve secretly hated my teeth my whole life. My ego too big as a teenager to acquiesce to my mum’s gentle requests for me to have braces fitted (what a mistake) and then traveling full-time in my 20s, so no time to fix perhaps my biggest insecurity.

But with 194/197 countries down, a little more money in the bank to be able to fly back to my dentist should I need any tweaks, it was time to take responsibility, work on my self-confidence and finally address my issues. It was time to get Invisalign in Bangkok.

So dental treatment as an adult – eeeek. Nerve-wracking all over again. Worried people are looking at you funny, wondering why this full grown man has train tracks or taking retainers out for mealtimes. Paying for the stupid decision of my youth, but now I feel differently. I’m proud to be fixing something I’vd worried about for years. 64 weeks of invisalign treatments all done in Bangkok at the Thantakit Dental Centre.

Here’s what I wrote about making the decision about choosing a dentist in Thailand, and about choosing between Invisalign or traditional braces.

And here’s what I wrote once I was 10% through my journey with invisalign, how it feels to change the retainers etc.

So where do we stand now? Every 8 weeks I go back my AWESOME dentist, Doctor Ken, at the dentist in Bangkok to get my dental check up, see how the straightening is progressing,  ‘shave’ my teeth (more on that later) a little extra,  and get my next 4 sets of ‘trays’. During the last 8 weeks I broke through my 25% barrier all the way up to 40% complete, I’m on the 13^th tray of 32 (you wear each tray for 2 weeks), so I’ve done 24 weeks of 64. Here’s who I feel so far:

IMPROVEMENT:

My teeth feel soooo much straighter, I can really see the difference now, so much more than I expected. I saw the computer graphics about how my teeth should straighten over the course of the 64 weeks, but on week 24 I’m delighted at the progress. I’m so sure it’s worth all the time, effort and cost and each time I finish my 2 weeks, I’m already excited to put in my new tray, knowing that my teeth and becoming more and more straight each time.

My confidence is much better. If you’re not happy with your teeth, you never quite grasp how much it has effected your confidence over the years UNTIL you start to fix them. Smiling in photos, smiling when you meet old and new friends, smiling in the mirror just to fully see your new, straighter teeth up close. I really love it, and although my teeth still have a long way to go, they are now already almost at a stage where I’m happy to show them off in pics and videos etc. That’s worth the world to be already.

DISCIPLINE:

Now the negative stuff! When you wear invisalign, you have to wear them 23/24 hours per day, only taking them out to eat. Each time you eat then, you have to floss, wash your trays, brush your teeth, pop in a new elastic band and carry on. Have a snack? Repeat the process? Wake up, repeat. Go to bed? Repeat.

I was so good about sticking to the schedule the first 4 months or so, but the last couple of months I’ve been a little slack. I’ve stopped carrying my teeth-cleaning equipment out to restaurants in the evening, knowing I can wait an hour or 2 and do it when I get home.

I will try to get back to sticking to the routine, I risk cavities when you don’t stick to the cleaning schedule, and having had nothing but bad experiences with my teeth over the years, I should really make sure I don’t create any more problems for myself!

PLANNING SCHEDULES:

With my travel lifestyle, invisalign have been amazing as usual. My mum came for a few weeks to Asia, I took my girlfriend to the Philippines and all-in-all I could disappear for up to 2 months without any need to go to my dentist in Bangkok.

I’m off to Ireland, Gibraltar, Turkey and India in the next 2 months now too, and again all I do is tell my awesome dentist, he gives me a check up before I set off, issues me with as many sets of ‘trays’ as I need and off I go! Perfect

CONCLUSION:

Getting my teeth fixed in Bangkok, where it’s half the price of Europe, and getting invisalign, rather than traditional braces, which allows me to continue to travel with no problems has been one of the best decisions of my life. I’m almost 1/3 of the way through my treatment, and already can’t wait to see the finished transformation!

A big thanks to Doctor Ken at Thantakit International Dental Centre too, you have no idea how much this has helped me! I was always terrified of dental procedures, now I literally look forward to coming back every 8 weeks!