Wow! Six months since my surgery! I'm not lying when I say each month goes by faster than the one before!
In all honesty, nothing has changed. I am having more sensations in the numb parts of my chin and lip, but no additional feeling has returned. It still tickles when I touch it, which by my understanding is a good sign. From what I gathered from research, once the tickling feeling has stopped, that's when you know your nerves are done healing. Don't quote me on that, though! Just a common thread I noticed! Last month my jaw popped a lot! This month I can recall one maybe two times my jaw popped. Now it's like popping my knuckles; no pain or soreness afterword. My teeth are still sore. My guess is that this is because my teeth are trying to shift back to where they were, but my retainer is not letting that happen. Therefore, the force is making my teeth sore. I do expect this to subside after a couple months post-braces. I bought some denture cleaning tabs to soak my retainers in once a week. It's just the off-brand at Wal-Mart and this seems to help a lot with buildup. I rinse my retainers overtime before and after removing them from my mouth and once a day I clean them with the hand soap at my bathroom sink. You are not supposed to use toothpaste because it can scratch the plastic and bacteria can grow in those crevices. My whitening treatment is still going... I got tired of doing it after 15 treatments and have 5 left. I am determined to get it all done this week though!
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One theme I noticed when searching through jaw surgery blogs and forums is that a lot of people needed/wanted this surgery, but had no way to pay for it. Let's face it, surgery is expensive and jaw surgery seems to be a surgery that is needed, but not exactly pressing in most cases such as a heart surgery. Therefore, many people are waiting for the right time to make that move into orthodontics and surgery. Whether it be that your insurance does not cover this type of surgery or does not cover enough of it, I wanted to share with you the various options I have come across that may help.
Care Credit This is a credit card designed specifically for medical purposes. If you have good credit, or know someone who does that would be willing to cosign, you can apply for this credit card to help pay. Every surgeon's office is different, but mine prefers to not do payment plans. If you cannot pay, they want the balance paid with this card. Thankfully, this is a much smaller bill when compared to the hospital bill so if you had to choose which bill to put on a credit card, this one would be the fastest to pay off. From what I understand, based on what you use the card for, and other reasons, you qualify for a 6, 12, 18, or 24 month promotional period. Meaning that if you can pay off the balance within whichever promotional period you have, you do not have to pay any interest. If this is something you would like to look more into, click here to be directed to their website. Note: I did not need to use this option, so I don't know too much about and how exactly it works. If this is something you are considering, do your research and ask someone in your surgeon's insurance department any questions you may have. Also, make sure they will take it! Not everyone will take Care Credit, so make sure you do this first if you are seriously considering it as an option. Payment Plans My hospital is giving me 12 months of monthly interest-free payments of about $200. So, if I were to do the Care Credit option to pay my surgeon bill, I would have a monthly payment of about $200 as well (Assuming a 12-month promotional period). $400 a month for 12 months is a lot, but if it's something you think you can afford it's worth considering. Tax Return Money This is how I am paying for my surgery. Last year I used taxes to pay for my down payments for the surgeon and hospital and this year I am using it to finish it off. I'm honestly not sure what people usually spend their taxes on, but if you are willing/able to sacrifice a years worth of tax return money, it is well worth the investment! |
WelcomeThis blog documents my journey through lower jaw surgery in hope of providing help and insight involving the experience. Archives
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1 Year Post-Op 9 Months Post-Op 6 Months Post-Op Paying for Jaw Surgery 5 Months Post-Op Retainers Braces Off 4 Months Post-Op Fear vs. Reality 3 Months Post-Op 12 Weeks Day 81- Ortho. Apt. 2 11 Weeks 10 Weeks 9 Weeks Day 59: Surgeon Apt. 4 8 Weeks 7 Weeks 6 Weeks 1 Month Post-Op Day 27: Ortho. Apt. 1 Day 25: Surgeon Apt. 3 3 Weeks Day 17 Day 12: Surgeon Apt. 2 Day 10 Day 9 Day 8 Day 7 Day 6: Surgeon Apt. 1 Day 5 Day 4 Day 3 Day 2 Surgery Day (Day 1) Pretesting Appointment Surgical Hooks 1 Week Pre-Op Insurance is Complicated Caution with Insurance Pre-Op Appointment Planning and Preparing Orthodontist Apt. My Fears Pre-Op Date Surgery Date Phases of My Journey Life with Braces The Operation 3 Months Pre-Op |