#braces update

After 12.5 months of my braceface journey, I was pleased to know that it was finally time to take these metal chains out.

Looking at my old moulding made me realize how far my teeth had moved. Caroline met me the other day and went, “I still don’t see the difference.” Thankfully, mouldings were a great example of how far the teeth moved, though my fault to begin with was quite slight. I had been lamenting over and over again how I wanted them out, it was uncomfortable and tightening was a chore and a commitment to schedule. But eventually, it was all worth it!

I’ve received some emails and comments asking how Emuannel Dental Surgery was like and how the whole experience and cost was on a whole:

Cost of Braces

On my first visit (here) Cleaning & polishing, Xray & moldings,Putting on braces, dental kit = $1420

On average, each visit cost me $90 monthly for tightening and cleaning. So if you counted 12 months= $1080

On the removal of braces, there was a total cost of $870 for the removal, cleaning, polishing and the retainer (top)

Total amount spent: $3370/- * (which personally in my opinion was really really cheap already compared to the 4-5k I was quoted from other dentists)

*Rough gauge of the amount spent, not counting additional touch ups/replacing of old fillings which were separately paid/done.

The experience at Emuannel Dental 

Reminder Calls

I personally liked that they called each patient to confirm their appointment 2 days before the actual appointment to remind them of their slot timings.

Time management

I struggled a lot with time management with this dental place. As you know, Emuannel Dental is very busy, so appointments are hard to come by. Chances are, if you miss your appointment, you won’t be able to see another appointment until the next few months. Most free periods were in the afternoon on weekdays, but if you work full time like me, I had to request to go off and though my workplace was very understanding about it, it wasn’t something that reflected very well on me should I keep taking a few hours off during work hours for dental. So I tried very hard to schedule my dental at 6pm on Mondays, but I didn’t get a possible appointment all the time.

Waiting time

This is something that upsetted me toward the midway mark of doing my braces here. In hindsight, I should have expected this but it slipped my mind. Usually when the appointment time was set at 6pm mondays (typically), I would be close to the last patient waiting. But because of backlog, I would often be waiting as long as 20-45 minutes before my turn came. So if I came on time for an appointment, I would 90% of the time be waiting for my turn, which annoyed me to no end, especially since there are times when I have school at 730pm in clementi (which was mentioned to the receptionist that I needed to do my dental on time because of this reason but failed). I missed 2 lessons because of this which really irritated me, but I guess it can’t be helped because Emuannel Dental is extremely busy.

Dr Chen

I really liked doctor Chen, because he never failed to explain to me every procedure he was doing before he did it, and he constantly reminded me of brushing techniques and eating and cleaning up your braces well. I’ll definitely be back for annual cleanings!

This isn’t an advert-Just a personal experience.

But of course, if your eyes are scrolling on this post: Here’s the number-

Emmanuel Dental Surgery: +65 6339 6832

We find strength to face the truth

This week will mark my 6th month of braces. Can you believe it? How fast time has gone by.

I have a confession to make. I hate putting on make up.

I realize this is probably the most un-lady-like thing to say. But I attune my ignorance to make up over it’s complexity and aggravation to my already-not-perfect skin. I have to admit, it does make me feel great when I put it on from time to time,…