Ancient newbie! Advice pleeease!

[fatbaby9]

I'm a 40 yr old female recently emigrated from the UK to South Africa.
I've suffered with killer headaches and jaw pain for years and have always been fobbed off by doctors with painkillers. (I'm pretty much addicted to Nurofen plus - codeine is the only thing that gets rid.)

Anyway, I started doing a bit of self diagnosing on the web and discovered that the pain might be due to my retrognathic lower jaw. Went to see an orthodontist and yes, I've got a major over bite/jet and thats whats causing the pain.

He says I need braces for two years followed by one of those horrible sounding surgeries where they move your lower jaw forward.

Unfortunately I have misgivings about the whole process - its incredibly expensive, medical insurance over here wont cover braces for adults over 21, (even for children it only covers a minimal amount) and orthognathic surgery isnt covered either.
My 12 yr old son will need braces sometime in the next two years and I dont think we'll be able to afford the two of us getting done.
Should get the treatment when it means my son might have to wait for his? I feel guilty even contemplating it. I had very poor dental treatment when I was a kid in the UK. Should have had braces after they ripped out 6 of my teeth for overcrowding but, well, everyone knows how bad British peoples' teeth are right? My dentist wouldnt hear of it.

So Im in a dilemma, do I go ahead and run the risk of having to wait for my boy's treament, or deal with the pain and headaches? I dont know if it'll be worth it when Im older!

Please help!

[BracketRacket]

Can you work out a payment plan? Most orthos will work out interest-free plans, or are there low-interest cards meant for medical care like in the U.S.? It very well be worth doing a little number-crunching, you may be pleasantly surprised. Also, are you sure the medical insurance wouldn't cover the surgery? Some plans will cover it when it is deemed a medical necessity, which it sounds like for you since you are in so much pain, i.e. not for cosmetic reasons, at least in the U.S.

I'm sorry you are in pain

The only reason I would say (if it comes down to a choice, which hopefully it will not) not to delay your son's treatment is that he would still be growing, which means he's a lot more "pliable." If he needs palate expansion or other similar treatment, he should still be able to do a lot without surgical intervention, whereas if he gets older, he would not be able to expand, for instance, without SARPE.

[drrick]

You may want to get your sons braces and then get yourself a bite splint to help you with your TMJ issues until you can get your own braces.