Review - Phoenix Dental @ AMK

OK.  There's only 1 dentist here. I safely assume he's the owner. Anyway at the time I visit probably around a year ago, he just opened the clinic.

Honestly, this clinic quite joke I really do not recommend. This is my opinion at the time I visited. Whatever happens after that,and whoever disagrees with me, I don't care.

He never did any dental work on me. Just xray and consultation.

If you have read my previous posts you would have known that for the past 1 year or so I had issue with my pre molar tooth and was trying to seek different opinions regarding it, basically on whether or not to get root canal treatment and also trying to understand the situation about my tooth. So this clinic was one of the clinics I visited.

Firstly, his dental assistant who was also the receptionist was very new. And while I was talking to the dentist about my situation he was constantly praising me about my dental knowledge and the research I've done and asking his new assistant to learn from me and telling me he wish his assistant would know more like me. Idk about you but that's a BIG RED FLAG. I don't take any dental courses and I'm not working in any industry that's even remotely close to dentistry. It's a big issue if I know more than your dental assistant. It's a huge cause of concern in fact. All I know is probably the breadcrumbs of what other dentists told me plus my own research in Google.............. and as the owner and the sole dentist of the clinic, I really question your discernment and wisdom since if the dental assistant is so not up to par, why did you hire her? Something is wrong......whatever it is, it's definitely not a place I wanna spend my money on.

And that leads me to the second big problem.
2. This dentist is fishy beyond measure.

(OK. I go get dinner now. Later cya)

This is the xray of my tooth below. (The xray is from tooth angels. The xray was way after my visit to phoenix dental though, but i just wanted to show you the anatomy.. anw, u can request for pdf copy of xray sent to your email for tooth angels which is good. Some clinics very cheapo. Take so much money for xray but won't give u a copy scared u bring to other dentists)

As u can see, my pre molar tooth is curved at its root. The tooth nerve is not straight downwards. It's kinda slanted. The tooth and nerve are kinda slanted. (Caused by impacted wisdom tooth overcrowding before I extracted them)

Basically my queries to the dentists are the same.
1. Do I really need a root canal, is there decay beneath my filling
2. And basically qns about root canal.

Like many dentists, he agreed that my tooth probably needs a root canal.
BUT he went on to say NO WAY CAN A DENTIST PERFORM ROOT CANAL AT MY TOOTH BECAUSE THE NERVE IS SLANTED. HE SAYS CANNOT PERFORM ROOT CANAL AT THE TOOTH, MUST EXTRACT OUT AND PUT IMPLANT.
anyway, this is ridiculous and medically incorrect. To have you know, I already did a root canal with an endodontist. In addition, all other dentists that I've been to have completely no qualms about doing root canal on that tooth. I'm scared of root canal and the dentists were trying to assure me, but I never had a dentist say it cannot be done. There are 4 other dentists I've been to after him and none had said anything like that.

Anyway when I heard that, I was shocked. Do u know how much an implant costs? Easily double or triple root canal and root canal is already very expensive. Root canal alone cost around $800 in TP dental excluding restoration cost such as crowning. An implant not only cause more complications it is at least double the price. The phoenix dental dentist just told me I can claim from medisave etc etc and was advising me on the finances shit. And this brings me to my second point,  either the dentist is just seriously incapable of doing root canal and that he is ignorant OR he is just trying to earn more money from me for his new clinic which has no patients inside at all and u can just walk in and he can entertain you for super long, which makes me think maybe he's desperate for profits.

So, pray tell, does this sounds like a place you wanna go?

Hell.  No.

Dr Sylvia Tay @ KTPH

Hello. As promised long ago, to do a review on wisdom tooth extraction by Dr Sylvia Tay from KTPH. It was done in about year 2011 so it has been a few years back. It was extraction of 4 impacted wisdom teeth, under GA general anaesthesia. The wisdom teeth pushing in front was causing noticeable overcrowding and slight pain so I went to book an appointment with this dentist. There are many many good reviews about her on the website and so I chose her. Also, it takes extremely long to get an appointment with her.

The teeth was indeed extracted and there was no pain. Like duh. I was in coma. After that my cheeks were swollen as expected but there was also no pain except you feel weird and uncomfortable with swollen cheeks. BUT THE THING IS SHE KINDA CHIP MY TOOTH SLIGHTLY WHICH CAUSED ME HAD TO HAVE A FILLING ON THAT TOOTH LATER. this could only mean one thing, as I've heard with many female dentists. They simply don't have sufficient strength to extract molar teeth at one go, so they always have to struggle extracting molar teeth. They have to break the molar into pieces and in the process, complications and discomfort could result. My dad always told me not to find female dentists for extraction. Anyway, I was quite angry that she chip one of my tooth back then la. Luckily I just needed to do a filling and it wasn't a big chip but like wtf right, so many good reviews I was certainly expecting a better job than that.

So yeah. That happened a few years back it is a wisdom tooth surgery for 4 impacted teeth under GA after all.

ROOT CANAL DR ONG ENG YAU (2)

I... did a root canal.

So if you have read my previous posts you would know I was really dreading it and tried all sorts of ways just to avoid doing it and find alternative.

Well I did the root canal treatment on my pre molar tooth with Dr ONG ENG YAU from tp dental.

It requires 2 sessions.
So the second session is coming up.

I will write a proper review once the root canal treatment is complete.

———-

Update: he’s really good and emphathetic towards the patient. I have no further comments about him. Price charged is reasonable for a specialist. I recommend him. 

ROOT CANAL DR ONG ENG YAU

I booked appointment with this dentist tomorrow 9am to see if I really need a root canal.

I really DON'T WANT to do a root canal but I'm going to see what he has to say first. I'm really hoping he would not insist on doing one if pulp capping can salvage it.

I've no prior experience with this dentist. I only choose him cause he got many years of experience and he's a endodontist.

Okay. Will update my review tmr.

Review - GPA Dental Dr Jason teo

Today was 1 composite filling and 2 sealants done at GPA dental by Dr Jason Teo

My initial appointment was with Dr Chong Chian Ee and I think I booked 1 month in advance. So imagine my disappointment when I went over and she's still busy with her previous patient. My appointment was at 11am and I came late at 1115am. I did call to inform so maybe she started with another patient first which is quite impossible because that means the patient had to come 1 hour and 15 min before time. LOL.

I dont think it is professional to let your patient wait that long.

---------------------------------------------

I waited till 1130am or something then they asked me to see Dr Jason Teo, who is also a senior dentist who was about to knock off work.

I get the feeling he is very egoistic and when you ask questions he seem to not like it when it's too many cause it seems like you're questioning his ability. Not sure if it's a male problem or what. 

Anyway before he examined my teeth he kept pushing for a 3D xray though. Because the dentist notes wrote that 1 of my tooth supposedly need a root canal. But anyway I came to the clinic for filling done on another tooth and I didn't want any root canal done at the moment. 3D xray is expensive la. I asked before, cost around $200 I think. (Update: I did my root canal at TP dental with an endodontist and a bite wing xray is all it took. Where will need 3D xray sia)

My dentist resigned!!!!!!!

Dr mellissa was one of the best dentists I've been to for filling. The filling she did for my back molar was good. I'm so shocked she left GPA dental. I'm very sad.

Filling

So I was checking my tooth and the filling I did last year at my upper right back molar was horrible. It was done by Dr Baey Ee Li from Q&M

I did a review before. The day after filling I noticed the filling is rough and discoloured. Went back to her she say it's normal. After a while I discovered there's a slight gap between my tooth and the filling. And now a year later I noticed that there's black decay around the filling.

No wonder Dr mellissa gilman said it's horrible. It indeed is. So I'm going back to redo the filling. Apparently Dr James keys said the filling she redid at the upper right molar was well done. Which I agreed anyway. It's smooth and white with no gap.

Tooth angels Dr James Keys - consultation and xrays

EDIT:

So some anonymous commented on this post sarcastically that he/she "learnt a lot" about the dental world here and then I realized oh no I actually completely forgotten to write my review for this trip to the dentist. Which you know, a consultation and X-ray with no dental work done, I mean how much can a person write right?

Which ya know, turns out there's quite a bit to say. 

Cause you know I would have completely forgotten about it until that anonymous commented. And I was like oh yeah I do have something to write. 

You see, I was worrying about one of my problematic tooth and that was why I was going from dentist to dentist to seek advice. So DR James is one of the dentists ive sought. 

He suggested that an X-ray be done of which I obliged, of course. 

It's a normal bite sized wing X-ray to see one of the molars. 

Now the thing is, he took the X-ray TWICE of the same side because he made a mistake. He should have adjusted the X-ray machine lower but he didn't. So the X-ray turned out to be you know, missing some portion of the teeth of which it should have scanned. He apologised of course, and I accepted. 

But this is not all. 

To cut the long story short, I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS DENTIST'S MISTAKE. 

Sorry or not sorry, that is not my business. This is a business transaction, you do your job and I pay for it. Why the fuck am I paying for 2 X-rays when I ordered one? Oh okay because you fucked up. I'm your patient and your customer. But I've to pay for your mistake? Fuck off. 

Now the thing is I did not argue with him. I just merely paid when the receptionist gave me the invoice. I didn't wanna make a scene about it cause I'm filthy rich. Nah kidding. I was really more concerned about my problematic tooth and the last thing I want is to have drama. Well guess what. Because I paid for it, I've a right to blabber about this shit for as long as I want. 

When he realized his mistake and retook the X-ray, he told me he'll give me a discount for it like he's doing me a fucking favour. In my mind, all I thought was get down your fucking high horse. I shouldn't even have to pay for your mistake. 

You know these dentists. Some of them invoice us whatever the fuck they want like seriously? 

This blog may not be popular but you ain't seeing such reviews anywhere on the internet except here do ya?

----

Will do a review soon. But it's nothing much.

Tooth Angels

Tooth Angels
Singapore
Eu Tong Sen Street and Bukit Timah

I am contemplating to go to Tooth Angels to get a second opinion since I'm really dreading a root canal and since I'm told I have a lot of fillings needed to be done and I'm really afraid of them. It's like they could just drill in and tell you that the decay is too deep and you need root canal even though there is no pain and whatever that is drilled in is irreversible. So second opinion is really important for me.

So i was reading tooth angels facebook and this thread of comments is worth reading.

https://www.facebook.com/lyn.tan.739/activity/10152486348861317?comment_id=10152489110316317&offset=0&total_comments=13&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R2%22%7D

So many dentists fail to spell out the costs of the treatment before proceeding to do it on you. It's not right. However great you are, on this factor alone, it's not right.

And I'm shocked to learn that private dentists earn 50% of whatever they charge you, assuming they charge you according to the clinic's rate. At least that's what I infer from the thread. It may not be a whopping 50% but it sure is quite a significant percentage I suppose. This brings me to this point: Private dentists (and medical practitioners, from what I heard from private doctors), earn a lot and they have a conflict of interest with their patients. Many news have reported that private practitioners often prescribe unnecessary treatment or prescribe treatment even though there are alternatives available which may be better. This causes cynicism in me and it should, because shall you have any regrets, a mere excuse or explanation would not reverse it.

Is there really a need for filling? Is there really a need for root canal?

I know the theories dentists tell us to convince us that we need to get a filling or else if the cavity gets bigger etc etc.
If the filling has reached the dentin, you need a filling etc etc.

If the nerve is exposed you need a root canal etc etc

We need to drill in and remove all the decay. So whatever we have just drilled into your teeth was absolutely necessary. Of course we did not drill more than what was required.

But really, are these really absolutely true? Because there are really other schools of thought out there.

And for private dentists, they always always always have a conflict of interest present, however you see it.
The more procedures you do, the more they earn. The more complex your procedure, the better quality the material or equipment, the more they earn.

The first time I went to XXX dental, the staff showed me around the clinic and let me see all their different facilities as well as advertise how good their clinic is. Honestly I really wonder what am I truly paying for. As with all medical professionals, patients entrust their lives into your hands. Once teeth is drilled into, once nerve is removed, all dental procedures are irreversible. It's ironic that we have to trust the very people who have conflict of interest in providing the best care for others. We have heard countless times how doctors and dentists prescribe unnecessary treatment. We have seen reviews how private dentists can be pushy.

Some dentists are kind. Some are competent. Some are conservative. Some are skillful. Some are understanding and caters to your needs. Some insist that their methods are correct.

This matter may not be as important and relevant to many, but for people like me, it's hard put to get an excellent one.

Can you blame us for being skeptical? Our lives are in your hands.

NEED ADVICE. GPA dental with mellissa gilman.

Two teeth.

Lets talk about the right premolar.

Okay. So when I floss I can feel there's a hole in between my teeth so not wanting to wait till it's worse,  I decided to visit Dr mellissa.

(Previously a year ago I did a filling with Dr Hc Leong dental. He said it was super close to root canal but he managed to do a filling for me. He told me not to redo the filling. If take out, it's a 100% root canal. I should have trusted him.)

But because I know there's still decay despite the filling I went to visit Dr mellissa.

She removed the previous filling and took a photo and showed me that the nerve is exposed and there's still some decay underneath and thus I need a root canal. The nerve is still alive.

I didn't want to do a root canal. I was scared and sad. She placed a temporary filling and said it would last around 6 weeks. Temporary filling with a really ugly color and shape....... really should have left it like that since it wasn't causing pain. But on the other hand, if I were to wait until it's painful, probably not wise either.

Dr mellissa also did a tooth filling for me today beside my super risky tooth. I haven't floss it nor brush it yet. This is a rather quick post I'm making today. So right now I've no comments on this simple filling done. If I have I will comment again.

Any advice regarding "exposed nerve but no pain, do I need root canal, can I do pulp cap" is deeply appreciated.

I love my nerve. :(

GPA dental with Dr Mellissa Gilman

Hey all

It's been a long time since i wrote something here!

So recently I have gone on 2 trips to the dentist at GPA dental with Dr Mellissa Gilman. On both trips are to do fillings. Will soon blog on my experience and review. :)

EDIT:

okay so the first filling was done on my upper back molar, to replace the filling previously done by Dr Baey Ee Li from Q&M Ang Mo Kio Central. You can read more on my review on her in my previous post. (http://mytriptothedentist.blogspot.sg/2014/06/trip-to-gpa-dental-parkview-square.html?m=1)

In the words of Dr Mellissa, the filling done was very bad and horrible. I contemplated a while (came back another time) before deciding to redo the filling. After all, it's additional amount of money (GPA Dental is not cheap. It's  approximately $300 for a deep cavity) wasted on the same tooth and there is risk when you reopen up a big filling and trigger the nerve.

She injected local anaesthesia so I couldn't feel the pain. All I know is that previously the filling done by Dr Baey was yellowish and rough, even right after Dr Baey did it, and her reason was that the material itself is yellowish and that she can't polish it as it will polish the real tooth.

Dr Mellissa begged to differ and after I told her what Dr Baey said,  she asked me not to worry and said that she will polish the filling not the tooth, it shouldn't even be a problem. Anyway, truth be told, it was indeed smoother and whiter than before, but not as smooth and white as other fillings I've had

Unfortunately, after a couple of months since the filling, it's still rather sensitive. And I can't chew on harder things. I shall see how it goes.....

EDIT 2: The second filling done was on my front teeth. OMG I know. Would never expect my front tooth needs a filling. It's actually in between my front teeth, at the back, tiny little slit was drilled into. So it's fine, very small filling. No problems except that flossing seems to be tight at the beginning.

So that's about it!

Would I recommend Dr Mellissa? I think the answer would be a yes. Considering Dr Baey did both my upper back molar teeth and ever since Dr Mellissa replaced 1 of the fillings, I often touched both molars and feel the differences in surface texture and can really tell Dr Mellissa did a better filling there.  Or maybe Dr Baey was just....meh.

Dr HC Leong Dental @ Eu Tong Sen Street near Clarke Quay

EDIT: I would like to include that he often replies emails and SMSes promptly regarding questions, and also attempts to be more conservative according to your preferences. his replies are also rather good in the sense that it's not some general reply to patronise you. So i think this good service does makes people want to go back again. He is also the owner of his clinic. Dentists and patients always have conflicting interests. I'm not sure if being the owner would help it or not.

So I was going to do some reviews on the numerous dentists that I visited, but I have yet to review on this one, even though I went to this dentist the most no. of times. So here goes...

Would I recommend Dr Hc Leong dental? The essence of this review is Yes, but with some amount of caution.

Generally, there is good service and good amount of comfort. After all, 1 filling goes up to $100-$150. But there is CHAS subsidy for those who have that.

However, he is not exactly the most conscientious dentist. I realised that he is not exactly thorough in his cleaning/polishing sessions. He often neglect the back molars which I feel are the most important since we tend to neglect them during our daily brushing. There was once that my back molar was already decaying with an obvious hole in my tooth but during the cleaning session, he actually failed to notice it. I visited another dentist 1 week later for my filling and she told me about my back molar thats when I realised. When I went back to him another week later (At that point of time, I realised I had quite a few tooth decay that explains the frequent checkups), he told me that tooth decay can occur pretty fast because a lot of tartar can just buildup with just a can of coke.

Sounds to me like a load of excuses. A hole in the tooth doesnt just pop up in 1 week. In any case, I do go back to him for cleaning after that and I do realised he needs to pay more attention to the back molars. The reason why I still go to him for cleaning is that actually i realised this problem is quite prevalent among other dentists. Still cant find a good enough one.