Making false teeth is a new profession in Cambodia that has only started in the past five years, but it is opening doors by creating new services to the general public.

After eight students graduated in making specialised orthodontic teeth from the University of Health Sciences in Phnom Penh in 2008, dentist Kak Tola was among that first batch and opened the Khmer Dental Clinic at No 8, Street 149 near the Bantuok High School.

“For many years our people have been less concerned about orthodontic services, because their buck teeth or crooked teeth just grew naturally,” Tola said.

“But these things can be helped by specialists in many developed countries in the world to straighten them and make them look better.

“In fact, buck teeth can be a naturally occurring thing, but because of the advances in science people with buck teeth can use modern science to modify them and look better,” he added.

Tola explained some of the benefits of having new teeth.

“The specialist orthodontic teeth can provide many advantages for people, because after straightening, they can chew their food better to bring more nutrients to feed them better and help straighten the jaw bone. They also make the mouth and face look better, adding more beauty to people’s lives,” he said.

“To be highly effective to curve and straighten the teeth, parents who suspect their children are growing buck teeth or that their teeth are not straight need treatment when they are between eight and 13 years of age.

“They can bring their kids to consult with specialised orthodontic doctors because at that period of age the treatment is the best and takes a short time,” he said.

“Normally, curving and straightening the teeth takes between sic and 18 months, depending on each individual case. The cost of orthodontic services in the Cambodian dental care market is cheaper than abroad by at least two or three times.

“Here the actual fees are between $1,500 and $2,000 and this cost covers medicines from the beginning to the end.”

To avoid having buck teeth, parents should bring their children to a dentist to get their teeth checked while they grow their second generation of teeth, because that is the best time for treatment and the expenses are also less, he said.