**Note: This is NOT a paid review, purely out of my own experience**

Darlie white smiles are considered the standard for pictureperfect. I am no smoker but am born with naturally yellow teeth that has become quite a nuisance when I am meeting people - most assume I smoke.

People around me have long raved about the effectiveness of teeth whitening, afterall it is pretty much like a normal dentist's visit and rather fuss free. If it were not for the dentist's gentle reminder that I can consider doing something about the shade of my teeth, I probably would not consider any teeth enhancement - this is what braces does to you, a heightened fear of dentists. 

With a wedding in the works and a Bangkok trip, I thought - Teeth whitening? Takes guts for sure to trust a dentist in a completely foreign country and their ISO certifications. Gutsy I am and I had a series of email correspondences with Bangkok Smile Dental and even made appointments for my whole family for a list of dental treatments. Prices are definitely a fraction of what we are paying in Singapore and even with Groupon vouchers matching the prices, the results have been varied amongst friends. One claimed that the whitening effects barely lasted 3 months and by her wedding day it was back to the same shade. Tip: Price and quality is directly proportional.

Traffic in Bangkok can be such a pain sometimes and partly due to our miscalculation of time, we arrived too late and was told flatly our appointments were given away and there was no way they could slot us in. Bad service to top it off.



Generally cheaper to go in twos.



If they had slots, we'd have gladly chosen this place!



Still cheaper than Singapore!



We walked around the area and managed to find another to accomodate to our last minute requests.




8am appointments made the very next day and the dentist kindly came in earlier than her usual time to see me. Basic polishing was recommended (800 THB) followed by an hour long teeth whitening procedure (7500 THB). Note that it is definitely cheaper to do in pairs so consider that fellow brides-to-be and grooms-to-be! She explained the procedures clearly so I was sure what was happening. I was clearly informed of my current teeth shade by matching to their shade palette before starting.

I am not going lie and say it was a painless process. In fact, there are three stages of whitening to be done, each lasting 15 minutes. Each felt more intense than the last but at any one point if there were heightened pangs of pain or sensitivity, I had to inform the nurse.

First stage: Went fine and dandy. I still thought - what is the big deal, it was just tanning my teeth under the light.

Second stage: Slight pain felt and sensitivity towards the end. Nurse adjusted the strength of light.

Third stage: Stronger pain felt with jolts of pain searing through the teeth in shorter intervals. I actually told them to stop with 3 minutes left.

I was advised not to touch coloured foods for at least a week i.e. red wine, carrots, chocolate amongst others. Sensitivity is expected to last. This new shade should last 1-2 years if I adhered to the food restrictions.

The teeth sensitivity only lasted 1 day for me, otherwise everything else is back to normal...but with a whiter smile! :) While everyone assumes that service is generally friendly in Thailand, Land of Smiles, I beg to differ. Bangkok Smiles Dental Clinic was bad enough but prices are way cheaper. If given a choice, I would still prefer to head back to Asok Montri for my future dental treatments if I am in Bangkok.

http://asokmontridental.com/

Asok Montri Dental Clinic
38/8 Asok Montri Road (Sukhumvit 21)
Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Thailand