When did u consult with an OS before or after ortho started

[bracesscared]

I have talked to about 9 orthos about my case. Everyone says i need a lower jaw surgery. I am not sure if i should just go for orthodontic treatment alone or combination of surgery and orthodontics. Everyone says that I should talk to anOS just to have a clear idea about surgery. When did you guys consult with an os. Was it before or after u started ur ortho treatment. How many os consults did u go for? How much are initial consults with an oS.

Thanks . I would deeply apprecite responses?

Thanks

[mp921]

I did not meet with the oral surgeon first. In my case, my orthodontist told the oral surgeon what he wanted him to accomplish during surgery.

[daffodil]

I met with my surgeon a couple times and had x-rays, pictures, etc. done with him before I started my orthodontic treatment. I'd already consulted with my orthodontist, so the orthodontist sent the surgeon my impressions and they spoke to each other before I got my braces on.

I only consulted with one surgeon, but I've been told that I need jaw surgery for many years and saw a surgeon as a teenager, so I didn't feel a need to do so before starting the process. Once my teeth are ready for surgery and the surgeon has a more finalized treatment plan, I'm going to consult with another surgeon or two.

[ker123]

Wow bracesscared! I've been lurking on this site for only a few days but I feel like me and you are in the exact same situation right now. I believe I was told I have a class III malocclusion underbite. Over the last few days i've seen 4 orthos and they have all told me the same thing as well. I need braces in conjunction with lower jaw surgery. Except 2 orthos felt confident as well since they've had similar cases that I could have 2 teeth extracted (my 1st 2 molars on my bottom jaw) and then use braces to close up the spaces/pull my lower jaw in. They said it wouldn't be perfect but they felt confident that it would be enough. The other 2 orthos were like no way (basically telling me that this is shortcut method that's not really solving my problem). I'm not sure if you were told something similar but like you i'm feel frustrated and confused so i know where your coming from

Initially, during my consults i was excited that I had another option to fix my teeth w/o the surgery. However, now from the few short days that I've been lurking & reading post of people that didn't go the surgical I'm starting to feel like surgery might be my best bet to properly fix my bite. And I'm really worried that by performing the extractions and using braces alone it wont be enough maybe i will end up with a bite that still needs surgery. Umm what to do

Bracesscared i could be wrong but i think that most start treatment with an ortho 1st then they are referred to an oral surgeon that the ortho works with or recommends. In my case during my consult today with the ortho im actually leaning towards in regards to trust and comfort he said that i could come back and take x-rays and and compression molds, etc. This way i could use those to consult with their oral surgeon before i making any decisions. I have 1 more ortho consult left to do. So that's what I think I will do w/o starting treatment with any ortho an consult with their oral surgeon to get a better idea of what im getting myself into. That way i'll already have them done if i choose that ortho and also i can use them to consult with other oral surgeons, as well.

Bracesscared have you paid for any x-rays or diagnostics to be done during your consult of your teeth? If so you can get a copy of this to use at your OS consult. The only thing to keep in mind though is that I think some oral surgeons take initial visits by surgical referral slip from dentist/ ortho. I'm sure not all but just something to keep in mind. As far as the cost of OS consult im not really sure maybe some others could chime in?

[chicago29]

Many OS consults are "free" for the first one, but that is a very high level discussion and you're not going to get any of the fine level details.

If you like the OS and/or their initial diagnosis, they will often have you back for a workup, which will include X-Rays, models, etc. These range anywhere from $250 to as high as $600 (from what I have gathered here on this forum). Most seem to be in the $300 to $400 range. This is US pricing and I couldn't speak to fees outside of the US.

My recommendation is if you are going to visit several surgeons that you be sure to get all of your records (panoramic xray, ceph xray(s), models, etc) and bring them with you so that you don't have to keep re-doing them at each visit. While I'm not sure you'll avoid consult fees this way, at least you don't have to keep doing the records. They get bothersome after a while!

Good Luck
Chicago29

[lfwood]

I met with my OS about 2 months after I had my braces put on. I had already basically decided that I was going to have the surgery that my ortho had recommended. After the surgeon explained all the 'risks' involved and everything else I still could've opted out and not had the surgery. Once I had made up my mind I told my ortho the route that I wanted to take and off we went.

I only went to see the one OS as she is the one that my ortho always works closely with. They know and recommend each other, so I certainly didn't want to go looking for someone else.

My first appointment was about $120 AUS. Plus I had to have a couple of other x-rays to take with me too.