The Forth Orthodontist/Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon I Consulted (Malaysia)
Posted by Vince on 12 October 2010 5:34 PM in Maxillofacial Surgery Treatment Planning | 30 Comments
My uncle and auntie referred me to their orthodontist in Malaysia. My uncle’s son has a similar condition while my auntie and her daughter also have the same jaw defects. There are at least 8 people in my family that have this problem and it seems to occur randomly.
I won’t reveal the Malaysian doctor’s name but he seems like a very experienced guy. He has his own clinic in Kuala Lumpur but he goes to Klang at least once a week. If you would like to know his name, just drop me an email.
The first time I consulted him was with my cousin in Klang some time in March 2010, who was getting her braces tweaked. He only needed one look at me without the help of X-rays or teeth models to tell me what was wrong with my jaws. I was instantly impressed because other doctors needed X-rays and teeth models before they can tell what is wrong.
He even told me that the right side of my face is bigger than the left side. I have noticed that and I didn’t think much of it because I wanted to fix my jaws.
My second appointment with him was at his clinic in Kuala Lumpur. I had my X-rays and teeth models done. He showed me a lot of case studies of his previous patients and some of them really freaked me out. He had photos of the jaw surgery and it was not something I enjoyed looking at because of all the blood and gore.
Another thing that impressed me was how he could draw lines and measure my face. I didn’t know that the face was split into 3 sections and each section should be of the same height. My lower jaw was protruding and too long, which made the lower section of my face seems unbalanced with the rest of my face.
Am I Ready for Jaw Surgery?
My previous orthodontist in Thailand could not tell me when I would be ready for jaw surgery. However, the Malaysian orthodontist told me that I was ready for jaw surgery because of a certain angle he measured in the X-rays. He told me if that particular angle is 90 degrees or more, I could go ahead and get my jaw surgery done.
If you have read my previous post about my orthodontic treatment in Thailand between June 2009 to December 2009, I had no clue back then that I was ready for surgery because my Thai orthodontist couldn’t give me a definite answer.
Since I have stopped seeing my Thai orthodontist, I left my braces on without any tightening done when I visited my Malaysian orthodontist. I had a 3 month plus gap before I found another orthodontist but my Malaysian orthodontist did not tighten my braces at all. He only wanted to book me for jaw surgery as quickly as possible.
What this means is my teeth were actually ready for jaw surgery within 6 months of orthodontic treatment! Just as my first Singaporean orthodontist predicted.
Let’s Rearrange Your Face, Shall We?
My Malaysian orthodontist suggested the following corrections and enhancements.
- Upper jaw surgery to move the upper jaw upwards and forward to fix the gummy smile and flat cheeks.
- Lower jaw surgery to move the lower jaw backwards to correct the underbite, slanted jaw and misplaced midline.
- Genioplasty (Chin Surgery) to keep my slightly protruding chin feature once the jaw has been set back.
- Remove facial fat from the right side of my face to balance the symmetry of my face.
The first two were considered corrective surgeries while the other 2 could be considered cosmetic surgeries. I was not keen on having the third and forth surgery done.
My Malaysian doctor quoted me about RM $35000 for all of this. I asked him if he could tell me how he got that figure and how much it would cost me if I didn’t want to do the third and forth surgeries. He refused to tell me how he determined that I was to pay him RM $35000 and he did not seem to be willing to reveal his prices to me.
I wonder if he thought I was a good target to rip off because I was a foreigner, similar to how I felt in Thailand. Although I was impressed with his experience, I still had my doubts because I didn’t want to pay over the top for my jaw surgery.
30 Comments On “The Forth Orthodontist/Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon I Consulted (Malaysia)”
On 19th October 2010 2:05 AM,
hani said:
hai! I’m hani from Malaysia. can i have the doctor’s details sent to my email asap..
thank u soo much!
On 30th October 2010 12:29 AM,
belle said:
hi Vince, can you please send me the doctor’s address in kl…? and his name as well…
by the way, may i know how much it costs for the 1st visit…? thank you
On 31st October 2010 9:40 PM,
Vince said:
Hi Belle,
I do not recommend the doctor I consulted.
He charges RM $100 per visit and he could just talk to you for a couple of minutes and still charge that feel.
I did not get a good vibe from him as I thought he was trying to rip me off because I am a foreigner.
If you still want his contact info, I can still send it to you but he is not cheap and he is a private surgeon.
On 1st November 2010 3:39 PM,
belle said:
oh i see… any other doctor would you like to reccomend…?
and… do you have any idea what prices is to be considered reasonable for the whole thing…?
thank you
On 7th November 2010 10:15 PM,
Vince said:
I cannot recommend any doctor in Malaysia because I have only seen one.
I think a reasonable amount would be $6000 SGD for a single jaw surgery. $12000 SGD for a double jaw surgery. If you can get it done through a government hospital with subsidised rates like me, I believe it should be cheaper.
Check out your local insurance policies and find out which ones can cover hospital fees and other expenses related to surgeries.
On 8th November 2010 7:29 AM,
Calyxto said:
hey vince can I get the details of the doctor as well?
thank you…
On 8th November 2010 9:49 AM,
Vince said:
I do not recommend this doctor but if you want to see him, I bear no responsibility for any bad experience you may receive from him.
On 10th November 2010 7:55 AM,
Pam said:
Hey Vince,
Thanks for your blog! I find your case especially interesting as I have a very similar bite to yours (old one I mean)…the thing is I have had to force my bottom jaw back in order for my bite to be ok, but I have really bad TMJ problems like you did…head and neck pain, shoulder pain…and I grind my teeth like crazy at night and my dentist has said my teeth could crack. I wear the nightgaurd but my jaw is still in pain almost every day and is visibly swollen on one side vs. the other. I have lived with this issue for years, but now I want to do something about it! I find your website very inspiring and helpful thank you! Who ended up doing your final surgery? Was it the doc in Singapore or Thailand? I’m in the U.S. so things are different here…and if you don’t look “too bad” many doctors just ignore your issues…but I know my problems are skeletal and I need them fixed! Thanks again – and you look great!
On 10th November 2010 11:01 AM,
Vince said:
I ended up doing my surgery in Singapore.
I have always wondered why the dentists I visited when I was growing up never told me anything about my underbite and jaw problems. I am also surprised that my relatives who have the same problem don’t do anything about it.
On 11th November 2010 12:54 PM,
maggie said:
Hi Vince, still remember me? I’m Maggie from flowerpod. I think Malaysia really lack of patient support group for this surgery and i’m thinking to start sharing my experience as a malaysian patient. Would you mind me to add your webpage as useful link in my page? I didn’t start writing earlier because i’m not used to upload my pictures on internet. kinda shy in nature. haha
On 11th November 2010 1:42 PM,
Vince said:
Hi Maggie, please feel free to add my link to your page.
On 13th December 2010 2:20 PM,
Gina said:
Hi Vince im from Canada and thinking about going to Singapore for this surgery but it’s not my first time doing it so i would like to know who’s the doctor you end up doing it with? I’m actually going to be seeing this doctor in Singapore name Dr.Chan i was wondering do you know or have heard anything about him? Please message me back at my email thanks.
On 13th December 2010 10:12 PM,
William said:
Hi, great sharing u have over here. Lots of info =)
May I know the name of the malaysian dentist/surgeon tht u consulted? So far I’d only consulted one, and urs seems to be the same as mine — i.e. RM100 per visit & rm35k for both upper & lower surgeries.
Hope to hear frm u soon. Many thanks
On 14th December 2010 11:17 AM,
Vince said:
All I can say without harming his reputation is his clinic is near 1 Utama and his clinic name has the initials TTDI in it. I don’t recommend him so I won’t post his name here for people to find him.
I have a cousin who has a similar condition as me. She had her braces done by this doctor I wrote about and is paying him RM $4500. She is not planning to get the jaw surgery so the doctor is only pushing her lower teeth backwards.
My cousin has had her braces for over 1 year but I told her she does not need to have her braces on for that long if the orthodontist speeds up the treatment. Why not just pay up the remainder of the RM $4500 payment and be done with it? I can’t stand orthodontists who take longer than they should to rearrange the teeth of a person.
On 14th December 2010 11:18 AM,
Vince said:
Gina, just sent you a message.
On 20th January 2011 1:31 AM,
annonynmous said:
hi vince
i wonder if i were just to put braces on my lower teeth to pull it back , will it correct my underbite?
On 20th January 2011 11:35 AM,
Vince said:
Yes, it will correct your underbite but not your protruding jaw, if you have one.
That was one of the options given to me if I did not want to undergo surgery. One of my cousins with the same protruding jaw problem as me chose to simply have her lower teeth pushed backwards to fix the underbite but not the protruding jaw.
On 25th January 2011 8:33 PM,
annonynmous said:
o …so my face will still looks long..=(
but i think i wont go for surgery too as i cant actually bear d pain…lol
On 16th March 2011 10:20 PM,
chris said:
hi vince.. i seriously need help. i want to go for corrective jaw surgery for my overbite. can you recommend me the dentist who did the surgery for your jaw? I like the result of what he did. it totally changed your facial structure and you look really great now. pls share the name of your dentist and where is his clinic? how much did it cost you to get the surgery done?
Thanks a lot. Looking forward to hear from you.. -Chris
On 28th March 2011 1:53 PM,
Vince said:
I did not pay for the jaw surgery in Singapore but I had to pay for braces. I do not know how to get the same rates for Malaysian so I can’t help you on this.
On 12th April 2011 4:37 PM,
alvin said:
hi vince,
your story is very inspiring.. i have the same problem but i dont have much money to have this surgery now.. anyway maybe i can ask the name of the doctor if maybe my savings will be enough for this surgery.. thank you so much.
On 31st July 2011 1:09 AM,
Choon said:
Hi,can i get the doctor details info?i’m planning to go for this surgery,i’m underbite.btw,can i know roughly how much for the cost.thanks
On 31st July 2011 11:12 PM,
Vince said:
I’m not sure if I have said this before but I do not recommend the surgeon I consulted in KL. He is expensive… I forgot how much but I think it was over RM $30,000. All I remember right now his clinic is called TTDI something and it is near 1 Utama shopping centre.
On 1st September 2011 6:14 PM,
ding said:
hi i am from Malaysia and i think the charge for the following
1.Upper jaw surgery to move the upper jaw upwards and forward to fix the gummy smile and flat cheeks.
2.Lower jaw surgery to move the lower jaw backwards to correct the underbite, slanted jaw and misplaced midline.
3.Genioplasty (Chin Surgery) to keep my slightly protruding chin feature once the jaw has been set back.
4.Remove facial fat from the right side of my face to balance the symmetry of my face.
for RM37k is still reasonable consider he is a private surgeon. Please do not simply FEEL that ppl are ripping you off.
On 2nd September 2011 8:38 AM,
Vince said:
Dear Ding,
I did not simply FEEL and decided he was trying to rip me off. I asked the Malaysian surgeon to list down how much each procedure would cost but he refused to do so. He only wanted to give a figure for the whole surgery and I was not comfortable with him and his jaw surgery plan for me.
Vince
On 20th September 2011 4:21 PM,
fifie said:
hai i would like to know where i can do the surgery for shaping face? cause now i have square face and i would like to do surgery to change it to V shape face? it about maxillofacial (Jaw Surgery) . please i need to know the clinic surgery tht offer this surgery and how much it will cost?
On 27th September 2011 9:19 PM,
Kasley said:
Hey! I am Malaysian and living in Singapore. I need jaw surgery as well for functional purpose. Because am not PR, jaw surgery would cost me SGD12k (6k each). This is private rate. My maxillofacial is Dr Wuu at KTPH. . I am still waiting for insurance to answer me if my surgery would be cover it. SGD12k is kinda a lot. I am looking for an alternative in case the insurance refuse to pay. If anyone has experience good and affordable maxillofacial in Malaysia please share. Anyway if the cost in Malaysia is RM30k might as well I do it in Singapore. No offence Singapore medical is better.
Agreed with you Vince, that was rip off.
On 22nd December 2011 12:26 AM,
Zoe said:
I would wonder how much it cost nowadys for double jaw surgery in Singapore as I had consult an experienced private surgeon in KL. Two years from now, double surgery cost around RM 50,000.
The surgeon charge RM80 for half hour consultation.
Vince, I was wonder your surgery cover by insurance only or involve CPF too?
BR,
Zoe
On 28th December 2011 5:17 AM,
Ellyse said:
Hi, I’ve got underbite, corrected it by braces but I’m still not happy with my look, it is half moon-shaped. Could you please email me the doctor’s contact, address?
Thanks.
Ellyse
On 20th January 2012 7:48 AM,
Vince said:
Hi Zoe. My jaw surgery in Singapore was covered by the Singapore government, Medisave and my insurance. I am not sure how much it would cost without a subsidy but I believe it costs over SGD $30000.
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