Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey everyone , this is gonna be a long story
Brand new to this forum . Please help me resolve some concern

I had braces when I was 11 till 14 . Had them off when I was starting high school and the orthodontist said I needed to wait until I was 18 to get jaw surgery . He sent me to a consult that left me scared sh***ess to ever want to do the surgery. I'm stuck in a frustrating predicament. I just turned twenty years old and got my top braces on again after several years and my teeth having shifted dramatically. My new orthodontist ( who is extremely UN helpful and I constantly feel like I'm being rushed out of his office) told me to go to get a new consult with a surgeon he works with . I havent gotten to the consult yet but from my old consult they said I needed double jaw surgery for a class III maccloclusion ( I feel like I have an extremely long jaw and the old braces pushed my top arch forward dramatically) he said the braces would be on for 30 MONTHS! And then o would have the procedure . My problem is that I have government aided Medicare that will expire when I turn 21. So what are my possible insurance plans to continue my treatment ( I live in Boston , MA) and how could I get the procedure and the surgery to covered ? If I changed orthodontist mid way would I lose my insurance ? I wanted to get speed braces but weren't sure how affective they were ( anyone ever had them?) how costly would it be if I paid out of pocket . I have called around for information and even browsed for possible dental plans but I have gOtten no answers or feedback . Please help

Bbq wrote:... I had braces when I was 11 till 14 . Had them off when I was starting high school and the orthodontist said I needed to wait until I was 18 to get jaw surgery . He sent me to a consult that left me scared sh***ess to ever want to do the surgery. I'm stuck in a frustrating predicament. I just turned twenty years old and got my top braces on again after several years and my teeth having shifted dramatically. My new orthodontist ( who is extremely UN helpful and I constantly feel like I'm being rushed out of his office) told me to go to get a new consult with a surgeon he works with . I havent gotten to the consult yet but from my old consult they said I needed double jaw surgery for a class III maccloclusion ( I feel like I have an extremely long jaw and the old braces pushed my top arch forward dramatically) he said the braces would be on for 30 MONTHS! And then o would have the procedure . My problem is that I have government aided Medicare that will expire when I turn 21. So what are my possible insurance plans to continue my treatment ( I live in Boston , MA) and how could I get the procedure and the surgery to covered ? If I changed orthodontist mid way would I lose my insurance ? I wanted to get speed braces but weren't sure how affective they were ( anyone ever had them?) how costly would it be if I paid out of pocket . I have called around for information and even browsed for possible dental plans but I have gOtten no answers or feedback . Please help

1. Find another orthodontist who will spend time with you and explain what he/she recommends. I wasn't charged for the initial consultations I had with two different orthodontists here in San Diego. They both came up with the same diagnosis and recommended treatment. With everyone agreeing on what needed to be done, independently, I was pretty comfortable deciding to proceed with it.

2. The type of braces you get depends on what needs doing. I needed real metal braces -- bands in the back, brackets everywhere else -- for what the ortho wanted to accomplish. Once you have an orthodontic treatment plan, go ahead and request clear brackets or whatever else, but don't be surprised if those options aren't available.

3. Orthognathic surgery is covered by medical, not dental. Depending on what you need done, $50K+ is entirely possible in terms of surgery costs.

4. If you find a surgeon -- possibly through your orthodontist's recommendation -- they can also do an evaluation, and they have a staff that knows the business of getting procedures approved by different insurance companies. You might find it helpful to ask the claims/finance team at the surgeon's office what the best course would be for insurance. I believe Massachusetts requires you to have medical coverage, so fortunately you will have options open to you. A maxillofacial surgeon in Boston could advise you much better than I can.

My suggestion would be to seek out the surgeon first and then ask for a recommendation to an orthodontist he/she works with. As another poster mentioned, jaw surgery is covered by medical not dental. 30 months seems like an extensive amount of time to prep for the surgery, but it is possible it may take that long in some cases.

I was in a similar situation. I also had Medical provided by the government. I was scheduled for double jaw surgery at UCLA to fix an underbite on April 27th of this year. I arrived at the hospital that morning, checked in, changed into the gown, got the IV put in me, and waited for the oral surgeon. The oral surgeon walked in and notified me that the surgery had to be canceled due to a misunderstanding between him and the orthodontist. Since i also had my braces work done at UCLA, the orthodontist and the surgeon met the morning of my surgery. It turns out that my ortho thought they would be doing a 3 piece Lefort (top jaw surgery) but my oral surgeon planned for a 1 piece Lefort. My ortho wasnt comfortable with this so they agreed to cancel and reschedule. I was rescheduled for May 19th. I turned 21 on April 24th, so once the month of April came to an end, I would no longer be covered by Medical. I got a call from UCLA oral surgery a few days before May 19th and they notified me i no longer had Medical because of my age. I immediately drove to UCLA to try to work something out. They agreed with me that I should have already gotten the surgery done and that they were at fault. To my luck, UCLA works with a county hospital (Harbor - UCLA Hospital). I was rescheduled once again to June 29th at harbor-UCLA with the same surgeon. Sure the new hospital wasnt as nice as the UCLA hospital (top 5 hospital in the nation) but i didnt mind as long as the surgery was going to be performed by the same surgeon. They ended up waiving the surgery fee. I was very fortunate to have the surgery done being in the situation I was in.

As mentioned by others, I think you should look for another orthodontist. 30 seems way too long for braces. Just let the new orthodontist know about your insurance and hopefully he can work with you and help you out.

ramirezmu8 wrote:I was in a similar situation. I also had Medical provided by the government. I was scheduled for double jaw surgery at UCLA to fix an underbite on April 27th of this year. I arrived at the hospital that morning, checked in, changed into the gown, got the IV put in me, and waited for the oral surgeon. The oral surgeon walked in and notified me that the surgery had to be canceled due to a misunderstanding between him and the orthodontist. Since i also had my braces work done at UCLA, the orthodontist and the surgeon met the morning of my surgery. It turns out that my ortho thought they would be doing a 3 piece Lefort (top jaw surgery) but my oral surgeon planned for a 1 piece Lefort. My ortho wasnt comfortable with this so they agreed to cancel and reschedule. I was rescheduled for May 19th. I turned 21 on April 24th, so once the month of April came to an end, I would no longer be covered by Medical. I got a call from UCLA oral surgery a few days before May 19th and they notified me i no longer had Medical because of my age. I immediately drove to UCLA to try to work something out. They agreed with me that I should have already gotten the surgery done and that they were at fault. To my luck, UCLA works with a county hospital (Harbor - UCLA Hospital). I was rescheduled once again to June 29th at harbor-UCLA with the same surgeon. Sure the new hospital wasnt as nice as the UCLA hospital (top 5 hospital in the nation) but i didnt mind as long as the surgery was going to be performed by the same surgeon. They ended up waiving the surgery fee. I was very fortunate to have the surgery done being in the situation I was in.

As mentioned by others, I think you should look for another orthodontist. 30 seems way too long for braces. Just let the new orthodontist know about your insurance and hopefully he can work with you and help you out.

How is the orthodontist at UCLA and the costs? Are you going to their Dental school for braces with students doing the adjustments?

thenumber12 wrote:

ramirezmu8 wrote:I was in a similar situation. I also had Medical provided by the government. I was scheduled for double jaw surgery at UCLA to fix an underbite on April 27th of this year. I arrived at the hospital that morning, checked in, changed into the gown, got the IV put in me, and waited for the oral surgeon. The oral surgeon walked in and notified me that the surgery had to be canceled due to a misunderstanding between him and the orthodontist. Since i also had my braces work done at UCLA, the orthodontist and the surgeon met the morning of my surgery. It turns out that my ortho thought they would be doing a 3 piece Lefort (top jaw surgery) but my oral surgeon planned for a 1 piece Lefort. My ortho wasnt comfortable with this so they agreed to cancel and reschedule. I was rescheduled for May 19th. I turned 21 on April 24th, so once the month of April came to an end, I would no longer be covered by Medical. I got a call from UCLA oral surgery a few days before May 19th and they notified me i no longer had Medical because of my age. I immediately drove to UCLA to try to work something out. They agreed with me that I should have already gotten the surgery done and that they were at fault. To my luck, UCLA works with a county hospital (Harbor - UCLA Hospital). I was rescheduled once again to June 29th at harbor-UCLA with the same surgeon. Sure the new hospital wasnt as nice as the UCLA hospital (top 5 hospital in the nation) but i didnt mind as long as the surgery was going to be performed by the same surgeon. They ended up waiving the surgery fee. I was very fortunate to have the surgery done being in the situation I was in.

As mentioned by others, I think you should look for another orthodontist. 30 seems way too long for braces. Just let the new orthodontist know about your insurance and hopefully he can work with you and help you out.

How is the orthodontist at UCLA and the costs? Are you going to their Dental school for braces with students doing the adjustments?

I have been very pleased with their service. They have done good a job. I paid $3000 for braces and an X-Ray package. The senior residents do the adjustments.

[quote=ramirezmu8 post_id=379510 time=1311662956 user_id=17022]
I was in a similar situation. I also had Medical provided by the government. I was scheduled for double jaw surgery at UCLA to fix an underbite on April 27th of this year. I arrived at the hospital that morning, checked in, changed into the gown, got the IV put in me, and waited for the oral surgeon. The oral surgeon walked in and notified me that the surgery had to be canceled due to a misunderstanding between him and the orthodontist. Since i also had my braces work done at UCLA, the orthodontist and the surgeon met the morning of my surgery. It turns out that my ortho thought they would be doing a 3 piece Lefort (top jaw surgery) but my oral surgeon planned for a 1 piece Lefort. My ortho wasnt comfortable with this so they agreed to cancel and reschedule. I was rescheduled for May 19th. I turned 21 on April 24th, so once the month of April came to an end, I would no longer be covered by Medical. I got a call from UCLA oral surgery a few days before May 19th and they notified me i no longer had Medical because of my age. I immediately drove to UCLA to try to work something out. They agreed with me that I should have already gotten the surgery done and that they were at fault. To my luck, UCLA works with a county hospital (Harbor - UCLA Hospital). I was rescheduled once again to June 29th at harbor-UCLA with the same surgeon. Sure the new hospital wasnt as nice as the UCLA hospital (top 5 hospital in the nation) but i didnt mind as long as the surgery was going to be performed by the same surgeon. They ended up waiving the surgery fee. I was very fortunate to have the surgery done being in the situation I was in.

As mentioned by others, I think you should look for another orthodontist. 30 seems way too long for braces. Just let the new orthodontist know about your insurance and hopefully he can work with you and help you out.
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This post was a very long time ago but will really apreciate if you could help answer my question. I’m in the exact same situation as you with regards to surgery. I will be having a surgery. I have a LA care medical insurance and will like to get the surgery done at UCLA prefarabily by Dr Fedlensen if possible. How did you get through this and how long did you have your braces for before surgery. Was your braces done at UCLA as well?

Hello there- It sounds like from your post that you are already in active brace treatment. Not sure if you've incurred fee's that you are already paying towards which would certainly factor into your decision making process.

Couple of questions:
1. Was the 30 month quote discussed in the initial consultation or was this a change SPAM SPAM SPAMMING plan after treatment had started?
2. Was this based upon the ortho's impression that you would have jaw surgery?
3. Is the jaw surgery for aesthetic reasons or for function (i.e. sleep apnea)?
4. Did ortho discuss alternatives to surgery? Can they correct/mask the issues that brought you back for a second round of braces?

This surgery is no joke and you should be very thoughtful in who does it and why you are doing it. I think it's worth it in my case. However; if I had a do-over opportunity, I would definitely get a second oral surgery consult.

I went into the surgery thinking it would be a walk in the park and it is not. This is not a surgery that any oral surgeon can do; it requires technical skill and experience. There are known possible complications and you need to make an informed decision. If the surgery is not for you then tell the orthodontist your plan. Perhaps the timing of braces is related to the type of braces (Invisalign vs. ceramic vs. metal) or based upon correction needed if you were to have surgery. In regards to the type of braces; metal is going to be the quickest and easiest for them to shift teeth around. If I had a do-over with the braces, I would go all metal. I have ceramic on top and metal on the bottom and I'm going on 2 1/2 years. The problem with ceramic is if you are a coffee , tea, diet coke , or wine drinker. No matter how well you brush, they will stain.

My surgery was covered by BCBS federal insurance as I had acquired sleep apnea. The ortho also over-corrected the lower jaw which apparently ; according to my oral surgeon, qualified me for the surgery.