The entire procedure will take place on the inside of the mouth. Therefore, there will not be any scars on the face. Basically, he or she will make an incision on each side of the mouth where the skin meets the tooth bearing portion of the jaw. From here, the jaw will be cut. Then brought forward the desired millimeters and secured into place with plates and screws. The surgeon will then sew up the incision site, put in the splint, and secure your jaws with bands on the surgical hooks that were put on your braces a week or two before surgery by your orthodontist. If you are brave and have a strong stomach (I don't...), you can go to YouTube and watch an actual procedure being done. But only if you are into that sort of thing... Click here to see an animation (no blood or gore!) of the surgery to give you an idea of what the surgeon will do. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below!
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Over the past three months, I have been calling back and forth between the insurance company and my surgeon's office. My insurance states specifically that jaw surgery and the splint are covered. I am responsible for paying for 20% of the cost once my $300 deductible is met and the insurance company will pay the other 80%. I won't know the official costs until after the surgery and my insurance is billed. There will be two bills. The first is the surgeon bill, which is estimated to be $8,076 and I am responsible for $1,855 of this total, which includes my deductible. I am currently playing phone tag with the surgeon's office in order to schedule the date and find out what the cost from the hospital will be. The receptionist told me that the surgery will be about 3.5 hours and will be an outpatient procedure, meaning I will go home the same day. I will be wearing the splint for four weeks and after that, I can begin to ease my way into my normal diet. I have only gone to the surgeon's office once for my consultation, which only took 15 minutes. He stuck his fingers in my mouth and examined how my jaws relate to one another. Thankfully, he said my upper jaw is good and just the lower jaw will need to be brought forward and secured with plates and screws. I won't go back to the surgeon until one week pre-op. During this appointment, they will do molds, x-rays, and discuss everything from risks to benefits involved with the surgery. I will also go to the orthodontist about 1-2 weeks pre-op in order to get the wonderful surgical hooks put on, which I've heard cut up the insides of your mouth worse than braces did when you first get them on. I am preparing for surgery by picking up a couple things each time I go to the store in order to avoid a HUGE grocery bill right before the surgery. My husband makes fun of me because we will be spending the same amount of money buying it all at once as we would by purchasing things here and there. Small purchases make me feel as if I'm not spending as much, which makes me feel better about the situation ☺ |
WelcomeThis blog documents my journey through lower jaw surgery in hope of providing help and insight involving the experience. Archives
October 2015
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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 |