Metal Mouth Message Board

I have a overbite and my jaw is misaligned. I heard Dr Arnett and Gunson from Santa Barbara California are the best surgeons for jaw surgery but the problem is I live in Connecticut. Does anyone know of any good jaw surgery surgeons in Connecticut? Thank you!

I'm going to one on Long Island, if you're willing to commute for appointments and the big day.

The best place to start for a referral is to ask your orthodontist which surgeons he/she regularly works with, among the list of surgeons that will accept whatever health insurance you have (assuming your insurance covers jaw surgery at all.)

[quote="sirwired"]The best place to start for a referral is to ask your orthodontist which surgeons he/she regularly works with, among the list of surgeons that will accept whatever health insurance you have (assuming your insurance covers jaw surgery at all.)[/quote]

Thank you for your reply. Since this is a big surgery and I'm extremely worried about having my jaws messed up even more I'm scared to just have any surgeon do it for me. That's why finding good surgeons is important to me.

A major part of getting a good result is your ortho knowing what your surgeon expects, and it can certainly help if they have collaborated together before. If your ortho does any decent amount of adult ortho, he/she should know the OMFSs in the area that are experienced with orthographic surgery.

Speaking for myself, my ortho referred me to one of the Oral Surgery professors at the local dental school who specializes in orthognathic surgery. Dental School faculty have the advantage that they can be sub-specialists (meaning they do whatever it is they do in fairly high volume) and usually take insurance (or else the residents would never have any patients to treat.)

Littlemonster wrote:Thank you for your reply. Since this is a big surgery and I'm extremely worried about having my jaws messed up even more I'm scared to just have any surgeon do it for me. That's why finding good surgeons is important to me.

I think I understand you. You're looking for a top surgeon in the field located in the NE (preferably Connecticut). Unfortunately, I've spent plenty of time googling such a thing and there doesn't seem to be much info out there. No "U.S. News Ranking of Top Orthognathic Surgeons in the U.S." or anything. The procedure seems to be too rare for surgeons to make a huge name for themselves nationally. I can tell you there's a guy I went to named Dr. Sachs who is one of the early practitioners of orthognathic surgery. He was the Chief of OMFS at LIJ for 17 years. He's in Long Island and NYC, but he's supposed to be fantastic. He founded a practice that specifically specializes in orthognathic surgery. Their website: www.nycoms.com Problem: He's not in-network for ANY insurance, so you can use out-of-network benefits or pay out of pocket. That's why I'm using a different surgeon. Still, I was VERY impressed with him during my consultation, and I'm sure all the docs at his practice are very capable as well.

What's your issue? You mentioned not wanting to have your "jaws messed up even more". Did you have a past procedure?

[quote="snapdresser"][quote="Littlemonster"]Thank you for your reply. Since this is a big surgery and I'm extremely worried about having my jaws messed up even more I'm scared to just have any surgeon do it for me. That's why finding good surgeons is important to me.[/quote]

I think I understand you. You're looking for a top surgeon in the field located in the NE (preferably Connecticut). Unfortunately, I've spent plenty of time googling such a thing and there doesn't seem to be much info out there. No "U.S. News Ranking of Top Orthognathic Surgeons in the U.S." or anything. The procedure seems to be too rare for surgeons to make a huge name for themselves nationally. I can tell you there's a guy I went to named Dr. Sachs who is one of the early practitioners of orthognathic surgery. He was the Chief of OMFS at LIJ for 17 years. He's in Long Island and NYC, but he's supposed to be fantastic. He founded a practice that specifically specializes in orthognathic surgery. Their website: http://www.nycoms.com Problem: He's not in-network for ANY insurance, so you can use out-of-network benefits or pay out of pocket. That's why I'm using a different surgeon. Still, I was VERY impressed with him during my consultation, and I'm sure all the docs at his practice are very capable as well.

What's your issue? You mentioned not wanting to have your "jaws messed up even more". Did you have a past procedure?[/quote]

No I never had jaw surgery but I've had braces twice and it never really fixed my bite. It straightened out my teeth but I still have biting problems. So I'd think I already have a jaw that's not functioning too well and I don't want to have someone that's not skilled enough to do surgery on it and make it worse

Any OMFS is trained and capable of performing this surgery. This is their field. This is what they're trained (and insured) to do. If they weren't trained in how to perform the procedure, their malpractice insurer wouldn't cover them to perform the procedure at an affordable rate. If you ask your orthodontist, they can recommend one that they know of that has performed the operation many times and they've personally seen good results from. I think you might be a little TOO worried. You're looking at a LeFort I, right? Your condition is probably more common than you realize. Orthognathic surgery is VERY well researched and documented at this point and for trained OMFSs, surgical outcomes are usually excellent.

***I am not a doctor. I am not diagnosing any illness or condition nor recommending any treatment***

I am using NYCOMS in Long Island (I believe they have an office in NYC as well). My surgeon is the co-founder of the practice Dr. Schwartz (along with Dr. Sachs who someone mentioned above). The office was very highly recommended and as it turns out my husband's friend had jaw surgery a few years ago and he used the same office (his surgeon was Dr. Ruggiero). He couldn't say enough good things about his experience. It's true they don't accept any insurance and you have to hope to get reimbursed.

I went crazy trying to find an IN-NETWORK surgeon who would agree to perform the surgery. Every oral surgeon I called told me the didn't perform the surgery. I finally found someone (who actually trained under Dr. Scwartz) and she was willing to do it but she was honest and said if it was a single cut she could do it but she wasn't really comfortable if it had to be done in a few pieces (I need a 3 piece lefort). So she submitted to my insurance for it while I decided what to do and it was approved RIGHT AWAY and it would have been free but I just didn't feel comfortable. She said the insurance companies don't pay back enough money to make it the surgery worth it for oral surgeons thats why most of them just pull teeth instead, they actually make more doing that. The in-network doctor I saw said she does about 8 of these surgeries a year and Dr. Schwartz said he easily does about 150 or more a year. The in-network doctor raved about how good Schwartz is, she said he "really is the best of the best." I felt her saying that really said a lot about the kind of surgeon Dr. Schwartz is.

Sorry if thats really long, just sharing my experience.

Littlemonster wrote:I have a overbite and my jaw is misaligned. I heard Dr Arnett and Gunson from Santa Barbara California are the best surgeons for jaw surgery but the problem is I live in Connecticut. Does anyone know of any good jaw surgery surgeons in Connecticut? Thank you!

Derek Matthew Steinbacher, DMD, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery (Plastic); Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chief of Dentistry, Director of Craniofacial Surgery

in Ct

Like the other posters have said, it's hard to rank surgeons. That being said, there are absolutely good surgeons and bad surgeons, and you have no real way of knowing what you're getting until it's too late. Trust me, I'm married to one and I'm the child of two

Good news, though - I'm from CT and had upper jaw surgery in Hartford about five months ago. I used Dr. Lieblich in Avon; he has attending privileges at Hartford Hospital and St. Francis. I was very impressed with his knowledge and professionalism throughout the entire process. He set realistic expectations from the get-go, he and his fellow did a great job with my upper jaw surgery, and his billing team was very cooperative when it came to dealing with my insurer. I would recommend him 100%.

Also, he really is the best of the best - he was the only person my ortho would even consider working with, and it's because Lieblich is so well-regarded in his field. He's not just a jaw surgeon, he serves on the editorial board of three scholarly journals, and was the Director and President for years at the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. When we were chatting about oral anesthetics before he removed my post-surgery splint, he laughed and said, "Well, if you'd like, I can show you the book I wrote on the topic. I've got a copy in my office." He's written many books and articles on a variety of OMFS topics, and if you're in Southern CT, it still might be worth your time to visit him and chat. PM me if you'd like a referral! I don't get anything out of it, but I honestly really respect him and his practice, and would be glad to send you their way!

Can anyone give me their opinion on this Surgeon in Ct? I'm from NYC and am considering going to see him for MMA surgery for sleep apnea. He is also a plastic surgeon so he should be able to do double jaw surgery with an eye for aesthetics.
Derek Matthew Steinbacher, DMD, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery (Plastic); Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chief of Dentistry, Director of Craniofacial Surgery

[quote="snapdresser"]I'm going to one on Long Island, if you're willing to commute for appointments and the big day.[/quote]

can you refer me to this surgeon? i feel like i might be seeing one at the same hospital - lij?

[quote="SampMitch"]I am using NYCOMS in Long Island (I believe they have an office in NYC as well). My surgeon is the co-founder of the practice Dr. Schwartz (along with Dr. Sachs who someone mentioned above). The office was very highly recommended and as it turns out my husband's friend had jaw surgery a few years ago and he used the same office (his surgeon was Dr. Ruggiero). He couldn't say enough good things about his experience. It's true they don't accept any insurance and you have to hope to get reimbursed.

I went crazy trying to find an IN-NETWORK surgeon who would agree to perform the surgery. Every oral surgeon I called told me the didn't perform the surgery. I finally found someone (who actually trained under Dr. Scwartz) and she was willing to do it but she was honest and said if it was a single cut she could do it but she wasn't really comfortable if it had to be done in a few pieces (I need a 3 piece lefort). So she submitted to my insurance for it while I decided what to do and it was approved RIGHT AWAY and it would have been free but I just didn't feel comfortable. She said the insurance companies don't pay back enough money to make it the surgery worth it for oral surgeons thats why most of them just pull teeth instead, they actually make more doing that. The in-network doctor I saw said she does about 8 of these surgeries a year and Dr. Schwartz said he easily does about 150 or more a year. The in-network doctor raved about how good Schwartz is, she said he "really is the best of the best." I felt her saying that really said a lot about the kind of surgeon Dr. Schwartz is.

Sorry if thats really long, just sharing my experience.[/quote]

sorry about this being a double post but i just wanted to ask who you ended up going to? im also seeing a surgeon at lij but he's neither dr sachs or schwartz lol. i have healthfirst medicaid though, should i still try seeing those two surgeons?

wilechile wrote:sorry about this being a double post but i just wanted to ask who you ended up going to? im also seeing a surgeon at lij but he's neither dr sachs or schwartz lol. i have healthfirst medicaid though, should i still try seeing those two surgeons?

That's up to you, wilechile. Those surgeons won't be in-network for you, however, and their consultation fee is $500 out of pocket regardless of whether or not you end up going to them. For the $500 you get an initial consult with x-rays and pictures, and a follow-up where you can see the surgeon's proposed treatment plan and simulated "before and after" pictures. The surgery itself will likely cost you $25k+ (probably more like $50k+ since you're going for the LeFort, BSSO, and SG) out of pocket, so you may want to go to a surgeon that accepts your insurance. Whether or not you also want to consult with the NYCOMS surgeons just to check out their treatment plan is entirely up to you.