Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey Everybody!

I just got back from my appointment with Dr. Arnett this morning. It started at 8AM and I was all finished at about 12PM. I'll try and keep this short. Dr. Arnett was amazing and really did a great job at explaining everything both in terms of function and aesthetics.

I have an overbite and he said I will need both upper and lower jaw surgery and that I will not need a genio. I don't have all the numbers in front of me but I believe he wants to advance my lower jaw 15mm. Apparently my right jaw joint is about 40% the size of my left and is in very poor shape.

The computer modeling that predicts what kind of result you can expect after surgery was AMAZING to see. I know it's not exactly what I'll look like but it gave me an idea.

I met with the financial person at the end and I'm looking at 44k for everything -- here's the bad part. My insurance (anthem blue cross) will probably cover the surgery but their coverage is limited to some ridiculously low number around $3,000.

Anybody's thoughts or anyone who has seen Arnett or Gunson please chime in! I had my first consult ten years ago when I was 15 with Larry Woolford in Texas and decided I wanted to wait to do anything. I'm now at the point (I'm 24) where I don't mind having braces and doing the surgery as the outcome (both aesthetically and functionally) is totally worth it. I grind my teeth like crazy every night (I go through at least three night guards a year), have minor headaches in the AM, and want straight teeth that fit together for once!

Thanks in advance,
Zach

P.S. I will post pics in the next few hours so you all have an idea of what I'm working with!

Hi Zach,

I'm so glad your appointment went well. It sounds like it must have been extremely thorough! Just curious - did his recommendations match up with what Dr. Wolford said? Hopefully you can appeal to your insurance company to cover more of the costs.

I just recently started seriously looking into having surgery but am hoping to see Dr. Gunson for a consult sometime next month. Your post made me even more excited to go to Santa Barbara!

Best of luck to you!
K

I have been to Dr. Wolford and Dr. Gunson as well. I am still in the works of getting everything sorted out financially for surgery sometime early next year. Arnett/Gunson certainly aren't cheap but I think they are worth it in the end. Good luck and ask any questions you have here.

I have been looking for their website for the past few days, and all I come up with is a website for a course they teach on jaw surgery. Does anyone have the link for their established business? Thanks! I'm trying to get in for a consult in December or January. Do you think they will require a referral from an orthodontist?

znewton wrote:... I met with the financial person at the end and I'm looking at 44k for everything -- here's the bad part. My insurance (anthem blue cross) will probably cover the surgery but their coverage is limited to some ridiculously low number around $3,000...

$3000? That might cover your anesthesia. Or, you could save money by not having anesthesia and telling them to work fast.

I have United Healthcare and they paid for everything other than my annual out-of-pocket max ($2K I think). And mine was considerably more than $44K.

If it's medically necessary, you need to find a different financial/insurance person and try again. Or get different insurance. Genio is cosmetic, but upper/lower for someone with your diagnosis should be covered.

Bullfighter wrote:

znewton wrote:... I met with the financial person at the end and I'm looking at 44k for everything -- here's the bad part. My insurance (anthem blue cross) will probably cover the surgery but their coverage is limited to some ridiculously low number around $3,000...

$3000? That might cover your anesthesia. Or, you could save money by not having anesthesia and telling them to work fast.

I have United Healthcare and they paid for everything other than my annual out-of-pocket max ($2K I think). And mine was considerably more than $44K.

If it's medically necessary, you need to find a different financial/insurance person and try again. Or get different insurance. Genio is cosmetic, but upper/lower for someone with your diagnosis should be covered.

Did you have surgery with them?

Since A/G don't accept insurance I'm not certain if they would fit into the Out of Network bracket. My insurance pays 50% for Out of Network but.... 44K, even half of that and I'd be "ballin"

thenumber12 wrote:Did you have surgery with them?

Since A/G don't accept insurance I'm not certain if they would fit into the Out of Network bracket. My insurance pays 50% for Out of Network but.... 44K, even half of that and I'd be "ballin"

No, my surgeon is in San Diego, and accepts insurance.

Even for Out of Network, though, I'm pretty sure I have an annual out of pocket maximum.

Bullfighter wrote:

thenumber12 wrote:Did you have surgery with them?

Since A/G don't accept insurance I'm not certain if they would fit into the Out of Network bracket. My insurance pays 50% for Out of Network but.... 44K, even half of that and I'd be "ballin"

No, my surgeon is in San Diego, and accepts insurance.

Even for Out of Network, though, I'm pretty sure I have an annual out of pocket maximum.

You're lucky your insurance has OOP Max for OON. Mine doesn't. But you're right, 3k is pathetic really.

Insurance coverage for Dr Arnett & Gunson is probably even less than that of normal coverage for out of network physicians since they don't accept insurance but OP you should try haggling down the price maybe with the doctors, if that's worked with anyone else.

I saw Dr. Gunson last week and was very impressed! I definitely want him to do my surgery now, but even if it doesn't work out I am still really glad I went! He confirmed my self diagnosis of a cross-bite, asymmetry and TMJ and also told me I have an open-bite I wasn't aware of since I force my mouth shut constantly. Now that he pointed it out I realize how much strain this puts on my lower jaw. He explained how my right jaw joint has been wearing away due to my terrible bite/misaligned jaws and making my asymmetry worse and worse! He also showed me I have a curved upper jaw which has yielded my upper lip to be too small and not able to meet my lower lip as it should. I didn't notice that either since I over compensate with my lower lip. He recommends I have a Lefort I to bring my upper jaw forward 6 mm and also down some. Then a BSSO, bringing my lower 10 mm forward and also rotating my jaw to bring it into correct position. As I understand it, it is too vertical now which causes many problems and aesthetically speaking very little jaw definition. He said with the changes to my jaws I won't need genio since my chin is perfect, just in the wrong spot. (one this is right about my face!!) He also recommends cheek implants, mainly just on my smaller right side but said he doesn't like to do just one so he will also add a little too the left. I think that's everything! I most likely will have another baby first before having surgery but I am still really excited. The information packet they gave me detailing my case and FAQs was awesome too. Oh yeah, the bad part is the cost.... Nearly $50k.

OP, I didn't mean to highjack your thread, I just wanted to share my consult experience too.
Have you decided to go forward with Dr. Arnett?

Am I reading correctly that Arnett and Gunson don't accept any type

of insurance, and that all the people who have surgery with them pay the entire

amount out-of-pocket?

Thanks for clarification ( English is not my first language).

znewton, I didn't meet with Dr. Arnett, but Gr. Gunson instilled the same type of confidence during our 3-hour consultation. Despite the fact that Anthem is only paying $500 for the surgery, Gunson's professionalism and expertise had me convinced he was the right surgeon (surgery date October 5th). The good new is that Blue Cross pays for 80% of the hospitalization, so that's not so bad. Good luck.