Need braces JUST to get jaw surgery?!?!

[Hostet25]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but I've been browsing around for a week or so getting a lot of great info! I went for my consultation yesterday with my kaiser surgeon. Pretty easy and straight forward...but he said I must have braces in order to get orthognathic surgery. I had Invisalign for 2 years and just got finished and decided to go forward with the surgery. Isn't there any other way?!? More money just to put braces on just for this surgery?!? He said my teeth are ready and if I had braces on he could do it tomorrow! That's the only thing stopping me! I just feel a little down about it all now. Is this normal? There's no other way? Thanks in advance guys!

[sirwired]

They are correct. For orthognathic surgery done for orthodontic reasons (as opposed to trauma), the braces play a very important role; during the surgery at the point when your jaw isn't attached to the rest of your skull, the surgeon needs a way to hold the pieces in place while the holes are drilled and the surgical plates screwed in place. What they do is use your brackets to wire your jaw shut, which holds your bite in a nice, well-integrated fashion. They then drill the holes, fit the screws and plates, and then usually un-wire you.

In addition, most patients come out of surgery with elastics, which need something to anchor to. Many patients also have a splint, which is held in place by being wired to your archwire.

Lastly, there's usually some small amount of tweaking to do after surgery and the braces are needed for that.

[Hostet25]

Thanks for responding sirwired! It seems my orthodontist didn't really know what he was talking about! He told me I could get it done during my Invisalign treatment or after! If I would have known I was going to wear braces either way I would have saved the money I spent on Invisalign and just went with regular braces! I guess I just wasn't prepared. But everything you said makes sense! I guess it's worth the money to have a happy normal bite and look normal! So next step is finding a new orthodontist! Thanks!

[sirwired]

Either your previous ortho had never done a single surgical case or he has some oral surgeon that somehow does the surgery without braces... I suppose it might be possible, but I have to admit I don't see how they'd get the precision required.

[Nozzelnut]

I did see one case of traumatic injury that resulted in a broken jaw. The patient had metal strips wire tied to her teeth individually. The metal strip was up near her gums. Both upper and lower jaws had that metal strip and that was wired together to hold the jaws in place. I'm not sure they'd do that for a scheduled surgery; not sure I'd want that either.

I'd rather have regular orthodontic braces and be banded with elastics.

[peaches]

I did see one case of traumatic injury that resulted in a broken jaw. The patient had metal strips wire tied to her teeth individually. The metal strip was up near her gums. Both upper and lower jaws had that metal strip and that was wired together to hold the jaws in place. I'm not sure they'd do that for a scheduled surgery; not sure I'd want that either.

I'd rather have regular orthodontic braces and be banded with elastics.

Yes, I broke my jaw almost 4 years ago and was wired shut in the method you described above. I now have braces and they are so much better! When I was wired shut, one of the wires dug into my gumline and that area never recovered fully. The wires have big hooks too that are a much higher profile than braces. They are very ugly! Clearly no one has put any effort into making them more cosmetically acceptable. I shudder at the memory.

[Hostet25]

Wow that def had to suck peaches. But thanks for responding...I feel a lot better about the whole braces thing now!

[Leebie3]

woah :s I'd be going back to the old ortho for a refund!

[Hostet25]

Leebie3 I know right?!?! I feel so cheated! And my ortho said he used to be in with a surgeon who did orthognathic surgery while he was in dental school or something like that! He told me I could do the surgery during treatment or after. He had no idea what he was talking about!!!! So my consultation was different than my surgeon is used to be said. He said usually people come in at the beginning of their treatment and meet with him and then come back a year or so after and have the surgery. I feel cheated!!!! But I've come to terms with it! I just hope my dental plan that covers $2000 will be enough!!!! Since I don't really need the braces...I've heard around that it's usually a flat rate for braces...which really sucks.