For all y’all just tuning in, I’ve elected to have my dental work done in Bangkok,Thailand this time. The majority of my dental work was done in Chiang Mai (HERE’s the post about that experience). This time, I didn’t go to Chiang Mai because the general consensus was that the process would need 3 weeks and I can’t be in Chiang Mai because I really wanted to meet the guys and gals behind Travelfeed.io and other travelfeeders (which was totally worth it) and to check out Steemfest as well. Oh well, another chance for me to step outside my comfort zone and have a stranger muck around in my mouth, YAY, NOT!
Bangkok Dental Care is located on the top floor in Century The Movie Plaza, right beside On Nut BTS station. There’s even a connected walkway into the 2nd floor of the mall from the BTS station. My first impression was that it looked decent and well lit but in a mall so the prices may be higher but I didn’t find that was the case after doing some Googling so I went in to inquire about getting partial dentures done and they fit me in so they could have a look and advise me on costs etc. The dentist could speak English well enough to explain to me the procedures and differences between the different types of dentures although a bit labored at times or maybe I was just asking stupid questions like “would I get a refund if it turns out I’m allergic to the metal” or “if they had a test metal strip I could put in my mouth” haha. The answer was ‘no’ to both questions so I decided to go home and do some more research before committing but I couldn’t. As luck would have it, it was a Monday and the dentist who does dentures is only there on Monday’s so I made an appointment for later that afternoon.
I get to my appointment on time and had to wait about thirty minutes. I’m thinking ok, not so bad since I am kind of last minute rushing things. So it’s finally my turn and I’m asked to go in but before I do I have to take off my shoes and wear the provided slippers. Kinda normal here in Thailand so no big deal. So here I am sitting in the dentist chair waiting and waiting and well you get the idea. I sat there looking around for about 45 minutes. A lot of time to notice things like spots on the wall that I thought they were roaches but they weren’t. Maybe lizard droppings? I couldn’t tell. I also noticed the equipment was dated and lots of saran wrap used to cover things. Then I saw a drip pan made from a re-purposed water bottle. I hope it was a drip pan cuz it was hooked up to that mouth rinse thing. So now I’m having second thoughts and asked one of the dental assistance, who happened to be walk by, how much longer I’d have to wait. Of course she didn’t know and went to go ask. Well, at least the dental chairs are all in their own little room connected by a “back corridor” so if I was to get up and leave no one would see, oh wait, I’d have to get my shoes. Hahaha.
Anyways, the dentist comes in 10-15 minutes later and we get started. She had to make notches or something in my teeth for the partial denture clips to grab hold of as well as to make a mold of my teeth. I don’t know if she was mad at me for rushing her (just kidding she and all the staff are quite friendly) but she felt heavy handed. Maybe I’m over thinking / reacting but the corner of my mouth did crack/tear a bit. Granted the weather is different than what I’m used to and my lips were dry and cracking so the tugging sure didn’t help. NOTE: I’m not blaming the dentist for ripping my mouth and it’s not like I Look like The Joker or anything. I’m just recounting my adventure and sharing my thoughts.
After the session I felt kinda violated, I can feel the dents and grooves on my teeth with my tongue and quite unhappy about it since I don’t have too many original and intact ones left. Oh well, life goes on. A week later, here’s my brand spanking new partial metal dentures!
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This time around, the dentist was still kinda rough but was very patient with me when I complained my bite was uneven. She had to adjust/modify the dentures several times and then some. After that came the denture care counseling and stuff where I got a free “tupperware” to store my dentures in, bonus! Haha.
After wearing my dentures for the week (HERE’s the post about it) was painful even the putting on and taking off. Which was fixed in my “after care” appointment. Now 2 weeks after first putting them on, there is absolutely no pain from putting them on or taking them off or from eating.
OH, the few times I was there I noticed that a lot of the clients were foreigners so don’t worry about the English language barrier, they’ll understand you just fine. The total cost I paid was $12,000 Baht (over 4 visits), If you shop around more than I did, especially the less touristy looking clinics you may find the services a bit cheaper but even at this price, it’s still cheaper than what I was quoted in Singapore. I would still recommend checking them out if you’re in need of dental care while in Bangkok because I’m completely satisfied with the work done for me.
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