My name is David Stuart.
This is the story of my dental Odyssey.
Believe me I never wanted to go overseas for dental work. I would have been quite happy to have them restored at home. But the facts were, years were flying by and not only were my teeth deteriorating rapidly, the pain was becoming a constant (I really don't miss tossing back painkillers like they were chocolate éclairs). I could put up with the physical pain to a certain extent but the one pain I found difficult to deal with was the psychological kind, it also had been hanging around a lot longer than the pain in my mouth.
it's funny looking back on the strange little habits I picked up once deciding my teeth were unattractive and shouldn't be on public display. Laughing is to be avoided when you've decided you're not showing anyone your teeth ever again. I developed the closed smiling mouth/smiling eyes technique. This works quite well until you meet someone really funny and you burst out laughing while silently cursing/liking them.
Around four years ago I developed severe gum disease, although I add, not for the first time. Back to my dentist for another round of high priced treatment that neither he nor I were very enthusiastic about. My teeth were crowded, painfully sensitive, worn down, decayed and cracking. The only thing that would save them was an extensive restoration that I knew, and my dentist knew, I couldn't afford. So it was just more patch-up dentistry until my magic money tree managed to cough up forty five thousand dollars.
Twelve months later I'd had enough. I was just plain tired of it all. I used to be a happy person who laughed and smiled often. I just didn’t feel like me anymore - in short, I was depressed. My breath became so bad I started avoiding crowds or anywhere I’d have to stand close to people. Even my constant companions, the hot-mints, were no longer effective. I had a constant taste of decay in my mouth and pain and bloating in the stomach from not being able to chew my food properly.
I was within an inch of having the remainder of my teeth extracted and replaced with denture's.. That I could afford!
I don't exactly know where the idea came from to go overseas for treatment, I'd just heard somewhere that it was cheaper. When I first seriously looked at the idea there wasn't much information around. My friends and family were dead against it, worried I would be kidnapped or the dental work would be shoddy and all my teeth would fall out.
I thought well, if I'm going to do this it would be a matter of working from the ground up and gathering as much information as possible.
My mission was to find the best dentist possible who could restore my teeth and give me back my smile. And one I could afford.
I researched dental clinics for over twelve months. X-rays and dental plans flew back and forth from The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and India. I was looking for ease of communication, experience with patients with serious dental issues and proof of that experience, and of coarse relevant qualifications. The only way to do this was to ask a lot of questions and examine the results. I basically formulated a check- list with scores awarded under different criteria. Checked the sterilisation methods of each clinic, confirmed dental degrees with relevant universities, and for the clinic to provide genuine patient before and after shots.
I actually received two before and after shots from two different clinics using the same mouth.
The clinic I finally chose satisfied all the criteria I was looking for. The communication was sharp and they were quick to forward details of qualifications, experience, sterilisation methods and importantly, a treatment and expense outline for my restoration. While I was excited with having reached this decision I was still apprehensive about taking the trip. In fact I procrastinated for another three months until finally deciding to just go for it!
I arrived in Manila with the mindset that if the clinic looked dirty, or if things were not as they seemed, I would walk away. As hard as that would have been to do my health was not going to be put at risk.
Well in short I’m rather glad I went. The clinic itself sparkled with hygiene and everything appeared modern and state of the art.
The staff; well let me say, in all my years of patch up dentistry, I had never come across such gentle, caring, and thoroughly dedicated dentists. Neither had I ever felt so important as a patient. Every possible care was taken with my comfort and every step of the procedure was explained to me on request. After the first appointment I can honestly say I felt in pretty good hands. And after traveling so far and researching so long I was quite relieved. The dentist really listened to my concerns regarding my treatment and my pathetically low pain threshold and she presented options and advice where applicable. At no stage did I ever feel rushed or harassed, everything was done at my pace.
The results for me were simply wonderful!
The dentist created a full smile restoration consisting of crowns (all porcelain on the fronts, and porcelain fused to metal on the backs), bridges and gum lift. My smile was now aesthetically pleasing and I was without pain for the first time in years. My digestive system also started powering along since I’d stopped sending it poorly chewed lumps of food. Gone were the nightly digestive cramps and bloating as well as the excess gas. With the decay and gum disease vanquished, my mouth tasted really fresh and healthy.
Much has changed since my dental adventure. The obvious being I smile and laugh a lot more frequently - although having said that, it took some practice to feel I was smiling naturally as I tended at the start to put too much thought into the smile and apparently took on a wooden appearance. Thankfully it now feels very natural to smile and laugh.
Of coarse my confidence and self-esteem have also improved, and that in itself wasn’t a sudden or dramatic change, rather a gradual improvement which I could only really explain by saying I feel more comfortable in my own skin.
Four years on and we now have a legitimate business partnership with our clinic where we take care of international inquiries, administration, marketing, and patient/ dentist communication. Quotes and dental information provided are prepared only by your dentist.
I believe that the service we provide goes along way to alleviating the stress and apprehension of traveling overseas for dental work. We also address the common misconceptions and myths that come with it.
I'm asked whether we have clinics in different countires and the answer is no. We are not an agency dealing with multiple dental clinics.I enjoy the peace of mind that our clients are going to receive what I believe is the best dental care in SE Asia.
I would rather build our clinics business by reputation of quality rather than it's immediate location to a sandy beach. Which by the way the Philippines has in abundance if you do wish to explore. Along with great shopping, friendly English speaking people and culture by the bucket full.
I will presume if you're reading this that you are looking into the possibility of undertaking such a trip due to your need of some serious dental work. I wish you all the very best with your research and sincerely hope you find a clinic that you're comfortable with. And more importantly that you have the courage and motivation to follow it through for a successful result.
Please feel free to contact me personally with any questions or concerns you may have or you are most welcome to make use of the forum as there is tonnes of info to help you make an informed decision.
Thank you for reading and all the very best.
Regards
David Stuart
Admin@dentalexpress.com.au International +61 7 3102 4632
Local Philippines toll free. 1-800-1-116-0925
