Kind of concerned about the state of my teeth and jaw

[Atrium]

Ok so a little background. I'm 20 years old, a guy, and have always been cursed with horrible teeth and jaw alignment. I originally started doing orthodontic stuff (wearing a retainer, braces, and eventually these metal wires and another kind of retainer) probably around 10 years ago when I was 10 and finished my 'treatment' when I was about 16, so 4 years ago.

Anyways lately it seems my jaw and teeth are shifting back out of place. I'll do my best to describe it based on what little knowledge I have:

I'm pretty sure I have a receding lower jaw that doesn't match up to my upper jaw, and I have a poor chin. But the bottom teeth are slanted forwards so that they meet the upper teeth at the same spot. This gives me an open bite. It also seems that my two jaws don't overlap one another perfectly. One is further to the right than the other.

Anyways, I brought this up with my mom and she didn't seem too keen on spending more money on ortho, which I understand. Is this something I have to worry about though? If I went to an ortho, would I be wearing something or would I have to go through surgery and would insurance cover this kind of thing?

I already have poor self esteem because the poor alignment of my jaws have given me sort of a baby face. I'd really hate to put this off for years. Being a 20 year old who looks like he's 16 has resulted in my having no confidence in myself.

[Atrium]

After doing some more research, I'm placing my money on it being retrognathia.

[CaliforniaKid]

braces cannot realign your jaw, you realize that right? you live in the US or canada/europe? orthognathic surgery can normalize your jawbone and strengthen your chin, but that can cost anywhere from 15k-100k depending on your location and surgeon. the younger you are the better you're off. you're less likely to have permanent numbness and the healing process gets only more dramatic and intense if you wait till you're older.

[Atrium]

[quote="CaliforniaKid"]braces cannot realign your jaw, you realize that right? you live in the US or canada/europe? orthognathic surgery can normalize your jawbone and strengthen your chin, but that can cost anywhere from 15k-100k depending on your location and surgeon. the younger you are the better you're off. you're less likely to have permanent numbness and the healing process gets only more dramatic and intense if you wait till you're older.[/quote]
Yeah I know, the orthodontist was using a retainer to shift my jaw.

If it's truly 15k-100k and insurance won't cover it, I'm sesame out of luck. I'm not sure what to do at this point but I assume the asymmetry/teeth wearing will only worsen with time. Is there no other way to shift the jaw?

[CaliforniaKid]

Yeah I know, the orthodontist was using a retainer to shift my jaw.

If it's truly 15k-100k and insurance won't cover it, I'm sesame out of luck. I'm not sure what to do at this point but I assume the asymmetry/teeth wearing will only worsen with time. Is there no other way to shift the jaw?

a retainer to shift the jaw bone...what?

your insurance may cover it, have you been diagnosed with a jaw deformity? sleep apnea? tmj? etc....might as well find out.

if you are in school, you can try to shift loans to pay for the surgery. if you are still young and live at home, you could collect 10-30k if you live frugally and off your parents LOL. we are in a recession after all.

i dont know any other way the manipulate the jaw bone without surgery. do your research and find out.

this might sound kinda crazy, but some countries like ireland/scotland allow easy citizenship if you have a grandparent from one of those countries. i believe the rest of the UK has the same law as well. as far as i know ireland is the easiest. finland is similar to ireland. i know russia is extremely lax on citizenship laws for foreigners who have some russian ancestry. i don't think you even need a russian grandparent, just some ancestry that can be proven. if you have a jewish great-grand parent you can be a resident of israel, but only a citizen if its on your mother's side or if you're religious. and their healthcare is okay as far as i know. i know this sounds crazy but those countries have universal healthcare, and orthognathic surgery is basically free compared to the ridiculous costs in the states.

if you find yourself without the resources to afford this surgery and your jaw is truly bugging you, it is an option to consider at least. i don't think i could wait till i was 30 or 40 to get this surgery, i'd find some way even if it meant taking out dual citizenship.

[beetle]

It may be free in countries with universal healthcare but there's no guarantee you would qualify. You can't just decide you need it (even if you really do, because they have a series of guidelines and minor cases would not get free surgery, you'd have to go privately. Private (i.e. not free) European surgeons often cost less than US ones, but since you're not living in Europe/ Russia/ Asia, the stress and cost of travel would likely make this too expensive and problematic unless you have the ability to stay with family or friends in one of these countries...? Private overseas surgeons will still charge several thousand dollars ($7-25K and up) for double jaw surgery.
Also, on the subject of citizenship - I don't know about Ireland or Finland or Russia but I do know in the UK - you would have to actually have a permanent address in that country to claim residency. First comes 'permanent resident' status, then citizenship. Citizenship is usually after holding residency in that country for several years. As a visitor, I think so long as you had an address and a valid visa (like a student visa) you could claim free healthcare.
The problem there is that qualifying for and then preparing for jaw surgery would take a LOT longer than the average student visa (6-9 months). Plus, being an overseas student (you must prove you have a college to attend to get the visa) usually costs a fortune in tuition fees. If you are at college you could maybe see if your school offers a study abroad program - then you could spend a year there and have surgery done in the summer - but you would have to find a surgeon and have your orthodontist work with them on your surgical plan at least a year before traveling there to have the actual surgery. You would also need to have a consultation with the surgeon in person before beginning pre-surgical braces = more travel.
So with all that said, if you're still on your parents' health insurance, stay on it and hopefully jaw surgery will be approved. The first step is seeing an orthodontist with a lot of experience dealing with and diagnosing jaw surgery patients. They will point you towards a surgeon who can help apply through your insurance for you. Also you'll need to get braces for a while before surgery as you may know from looking at this forum.
Good luck!

[Atrium]

Thanks for the response guys, I have an ortho appointment in about a month. Going overseas is really out of the question anyways, so I'm banking on the insurance.

Anyways, as I do more research I think I've narrowed it down that I actually have Long Face Syndrome. A couple points:

1. I have the long face, obviously. The distance between my eyes and mouth is pretty large, as well as the distance between my nose and upper lip.
2. This is caused by an overly long maxillary (or high arch for my upper mouth), which I've heard is caused by mouth breathing and large tonsils, both things I had as a kid (the tonsils had to be removed).
3. the extended maxillary has pushed my mandible downwards and away, giving me the recessive lower jaw and the overbite.
4. I also have a narrow jaw which is causing crowding of the teeth.

In short, my mouth is a wreck. Can't wait to see an ortho and hear what he has to say. If you guys have any treatment knowledge for LFS and a narrow jaw, I'd love to hear it.