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PCEC members informed about dental implants
Master of Ceremonies “Hawaii” Bob Sutterfield welcomed
everyone to the Sunday October 17 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club at
the Tavern by the Sea Restaurant. After the usual opening announcements, he
called on Dr. Tanit Kiatpanabhikul, D.D.S., from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (BHP).
Dr. Tanit specializes in prosthodontics, which is about dental implants and
cosmetic dentistry.
Dr
Tanit introduces PCEC members to a number of procedures available to restore
decayed, discolored or missing teeth.
Dr. Tanit asked the question, what is the quality of
life? His answer was the degree to which a person enjoys the important
possibilities of his or her life. Dr. Tanit pointed out that a person can
experience many dental problems, such as gum disease, tooth wear, and oral
lesions. They could also have an imperfect smile because of flaws such as
gaps between their teeth. He presented several pictures showing the effect
of these dental problems and said that correcting these problems can improve
the quality of a person’s life. He then described past dental practices such
as dentures, bridges, and crowns noting that each had their disadvantages.
However, he said the state of the art is tooth implants which are stronger,
more long lasting, look more natural, and unlike the previous practices,
there is no subsequent decay.
Dr. Tanit proceeded to give a very interesting visual
presentation as he explained what an implant is and why it is beneficial. He
said that an implant can take two to three months to complete depending on
bone density of the patient. He explained that in essence, the doctor makes
an incision in the gums to reveal the bone; then with a small drill he cuts
a hole in the bone being careful of its positioning. Once done, another
drill is used to expand the hole. He emphasized that there is no pain in
this procedure. The implant is placed into the hole and a screw is inserted
into the implant. It is then covered with a membrane and sutured. The
patient then must wait for the bone to grow onto the surface of the implant.
Martin,
Asian representative for the Straumann group, answers a question regarding
the procedure and timeline for inserting an implant.
During this waiting period, a crown is made to the
desired shape and color so that it looks like a natural tooth. The crown has
an attached base that is designed to fit into the drilled hole. When the
bone has adequately grown around the implant, the crown is inserted. This
process takes 2 to 3 months depending on the bone density of the patient.
The benefits to using implants, Dr. Tanit said, are: (1)
no need to grind the teeth down for a bridge or crown, thus it is a more
conservative approach; (2) appearance will look more like a natural tooth;
(3) stronger mastication (chewing) as the implant is stronger.
He mentioned there are two types of implants, one all
ceramic and the other porcelain fused to metal. He said he prefers to use
ceramic in the front as they look better and the porcelain for back teeth as
it is a bit stronger and that is where most people do their chewing.
Dr. Tanit concluded by noting that at BHP, they prefer to
use Straumann implants as they are considered the best. They are made in
Switzerland and are available in most countries. He said that since implants
do not require the approval of any government regulatory agency, there are
many cheaper ones available. However, there is no assurance as to their
quality.
After Dr. Tanit’s presentation, a representative for
Straumann gave a brief talk about the company.
There was a lot of interest from the audience as
evidenced by the questions asked after the presentation. Nat from BHP
mentioned that a special voucher for those in attendance was being handed
out, which provided a 10% discount on implants.
“Hawaii” Bob then called on the Club’s Internet guru
Richard Silverberg to present his latest website “find,” which was AIS
1-2-Call’s website https://12calleservice. ais.co.th/EPPWeb/index. html.
Richard described how it worked and how you make changes in your 1-2-Call
calling plan, transfer call time and money to another number, and send out
multiple SMS text messages among other things.
The meeting concluded with “Hawaii” Bob bringing everyone
up to date on upcoming general and Club events. He then called on Les
Edmonds to conduct the always informative and sometimes humorous Open Forum,
where questions about living in Thailand and Pattaya in particular are asked
and answered.
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Royal British Legion Thailand to hold annual Service of Remembrance
 Bert
Elson
NOTE: In last week’s edition the start time was inadvertently listed as 10.50
p.m. when in fact it should have been 10.50 a.m. Seating by 10.40 a.m.
We are fast approaching the time of year we in the Legion
call Remembrancetide, the time when we place poppy boxes around the Pattaya area
and the time we hold our Annual Service of Remembrance. Over the last few years
many people have asked me, “Do the Royal British Legion have a service in
Pattaya” the answer I’m afraid has been “No”.
That changes on Thursday November 11th this year when we will
be holding our first Service of Remembrance at 10.50 a.m. in St Niklaus Church
on Sukhumvit Road. The service will be open to all nationalities and all faiths
and will be as it should be, both short and simple. Wreaths will be laid by a
number of groups inside the church, outside the church will be a garden of
remembrance where if you wish you may place a small wooden cross with the name
of a loved one you have lost.
Whilst you can of course just turn up, it really would help
us if we had an idea of numbers, especially if you intend to bring a group of
people (we could then reserve your seats).
We have come a long way since 2007 when 15 of us formed the
Thailand Branch, as we now have close to 200 members and cover welfare cases all
over Thailand. We have 9 widows under our wing whom we ensure receive all they
are entitled to as regards pensions and benefits. Last year we spent over
190,000 baht on such things as medical care, rent, household goods, funerals,
visits and a number of other things, and all these were paid for from the local
Poppy Appeal and, when needed, funds sent from UK. We also simply call in to say
“hello” to any elderly ex members of the UK Armed Forces who may have retired
here in Thailand and are alone.
Whilst our primary role is the care and welfare of those who
have served/are serving in the UK Armed Forces and or their dependants we also
have a very active social life, we meet every Sunday from 2pm at Tropical
Bert’s, 2nd Road and have trips to such things as Remembrance Sunday at the
British Embassy, ANZAC Day at the River Kwai, Malaysia every June and whatever
else our Social Secretary lays on for us (a day at the races in Bangkok went
down very well, you can even bet!).
You do not have to have served in the Armed Forces to join
the Legion, simply contact me or come along any Sunday and please contact me if
you intend to attend the Service of Remembrance in Pattaya (seated by 10.40
a.m.) at [email protected]
Finally I would like to thank all those who donated for a
poppy last year, I’m sure you wore it with pride and hope you do the same this
year. It is perhaps a sad sign of the times that due to present day conflicts
the majority of the Legion’s funds and care is directed at those under 35 years
of age.
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Pattaya Hard Rock Cafe celebrates 9th anniversary
Hard
Rock staff gather for a celebratory photo.
Phasakorn Channgam
Staff and fans of Pattaya’s Hard Rock Cafe celebrated the
outlet’s ninth anniversary with a hamburger-shaped cake and rock & roll.
Manager Matt Carlry emceed the Oct. 15 celebration, which
saw staff members dress up as actors and other celebrities. After Carlry
offered a champagne toast, Thai bands Centric and Paradox rocked the crowd.
The Hard Rock Pattaya opened in 2001 and is now one of
more than 100 branches in 53 countries around the world. While far from the
London hole in the wall where Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend hung their
guitars on the wall, sparking the creation of a cultural icon, the Pattaya
branch still draws rock music fans and performers like a magnet.
Like other locations, the Pattaya branch features some of
the 70,000 musical instruments, clothing, vehicles and handwritten lyrics
donated by musicians over the years.
Manager
Matt Carlry leads the cake cutting
celebrating Hard Rock Pattaya’s 9th anniversary.
Hard
Rock staff members perform a celebration dance.
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Sutter Home wine dinner a winner
Dr. Iain Corness
Having visiting Michelin
Star chef Thomas Kammeier at the Mantra restaurant, the Amari team was quick to
use his talents at various promotions during his one week in Pattaya.
Chefs Jens Heier (left) and
Thomas Kammeier (right) performed superbly at the Sutter Home wine dinner.
Following the Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs dinner last Tuesday, they followed up with the Sutter Home
Californian wine dinner on the Thursday, with resident executive chef Jens Heier
and Thomas Kammeier collaborating in the kitchen to produce Thomas’s menu for
the diners.
The Sutter Home wine was
being handled by Bangkok Beer and Beverage, with James Mullen representing the
distributor. The White Zinfandel drunk at the reception was superb, and as
James explained, this was the wine that in 1948 took Sutter Home from being a
small family vineyard to becoming the second largest vineyard of its type in
America.
A waitress displays the Sutter
Home Chardonnay 2008.
The menu was very well
balanced, and the range of Sutter Home wines complemented the dishes all the way
through the event, and was in many ways even superior to the previous Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs dinner, in my opinion. The second wine of the evening, the Sutter
Home Chardonnay 2008, taken with the tuna on a saffron risotto made for a
perfect pairing, and the goose liver Sobrassasa-currant stock on a capsicum
confit was also superb. There was a delicacy in the cooking which made this
wine dinner stand out and showed that visiting chef Thomas Kammeier deserved his
Michelin Star and his 17 point Gault Millau rating.
Congratulations chefs
Thomas and Jens, Sutter Home Wines and the Amari/Mantra teams.
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