Matt Ford on his dental implant experience at Imperial Dental Specialist Centre
“My name is Matt Ford and I have been working in Malaysia for over six years. When I was a teenager in the United Kingdom, free dental healthcare was provided but by the time I turned 18 they had stopped all that. So inevitably, because my priorities at the time were spending money on wine, women and song, and not my teeth, I later suffered the consequences.
While I never had problems with my teeth when I was younger, all hell broke loose when I hit my thirties. It first began with wisdom teeth-related issues leading to cracks and chips and then sport-related accidents. Eventually, I had no choice but to wear a dental plate.
Before having any sort of treatment at the Imperial Dental Specialist Centre with Dato’ Dr. How Kim Chuan, I actually had been with another dentist. But when I asked him about implants, he unfortunately, said he didn’t provide the procedure. After walking past Imperial Dental one afternoon, I decided to pop my head in to ask if they provided implant treatments. They did. After consulting Dato’ Dr. How, I decided to fix my teeth once and for all.
Before undergoing any implants, I had six teeth removed and later a sinus lift. After those treatments, Dato’ Dr. How told me that implants were going to be quite loud and uncomfortable because he would use a hammer during the procedure. I’ve always assumed that I had a high tolerance for pain
and, because of this, expressed that I would like all my implants done in one day. Although Dato’ Dr. How advised against this, I just wanted to get everything over and done with so I didn’t have to go through it again.
“After crowning my bottom teeth, I later had
my implants fitted and that was brilliant as well. All in
all, it took about si x sh ort months to fully regain
a full set of working chompers.”
On the day of the implants, I was very surprised to find out that I wasn’t going to be knocked out throughout the procedure. Although they had used local anaesthetic and it wasn’t at all painful, I have to admit that having implants put in has to be one of the weirdest sensations.
As I said before, because Dato’ Dr. How used a hammer, my whole skull rattled and I could hear this loud banging. To put it simply, imagine putting
your head under a bucket and there’s someone beating it with a metal stick. It was really weird. After having all six implant posts knocked in, I laid on the chair for a half an hour before I left the clinic and drove home. Frankly, having six implants put in at once felt like I’d just gotten into a fight. On the way home, I pulled over and started weeping. Although the procedure was painless, it was a lot of shock to endure in a short amount of time.
In retrospect, I really don’t think I knew what I was getting myself into. When I reached home, I took my medication and, when I woke up the next day, I was absolutely fine. The procedure turned out great and it was brilliant.
After having the implant posts put in, I returned to the clinic a few weeks later to put crowns on the bottom row of my front teeth. Having the crowns put in was very comfortable and if you compare that to having a hammer banged into the roof of your mouth, it’s nothing. After crowning my bottom teeth, I later had my implants fitted and that was brilliant as well. All in all, it took about six short months to fully regain a full set of working chompers.
Looking back, I have to say that every penny spent and all the discomfort was well worth the trouble because I used to have difficulty eating crunchy foods. As a fat bloke, I used to go to the pub with friends and all I could do was watch them eat peanuts as I looked on with disdain. But now, I can eat all the crisps and nuts I want without fear of screwing up my teeth. Apart from regaining the ability to eat comfortably again, people actually noticed how beautiful my teeth were. When I returned home for Christmas last year, I couldn’t help but smile and show off my new teeth to just about everybody.
Dato’ Dr. How and the Imperial Dental Specialist Centre have been absolutely remarkable. Although you can never describe visiting the dentist
as a pleasurable experience, with the
Imperial Dental Specialist Centre, it’s as pleasant as it can get.
