Metal Mouth Message Board

So basically, I am a 20 year-old male who will be needing braces + jaw surgery. My underbite is a pretty severe case, so I'll be needing around 2 years of braces pre-surgery.

To make a long story short, I was referred to an orthodontist which I'm comfortable with, however, he referred me to a surgeon which I was not comfortable with. I told my orthodontist that I'm not comfortable with the surgeon, and he told me that I don't need to have the surgery under the surgeon he referred me. I can have my braces done, and in two or so years when I'm ready for my surgery, I can switch surgeons to one which I'm comfortable with, but now since I'm far away from surgery, I should take care of the braces process first.

The thing is, I was always under the impression that the orthodontist and surgeon have to work together and constantly talk to make sure things are going right as you prepare for jaw surgery. I told him that, and he said that he can get advice from the referred surgeon if he needs, but it's going to be him taking care of me for the next two years or so to align my teeth for surgery, and that I don't need to have surgery done under his referred surgeon and I can definitely switch.

What do you think about this? How does it sound? Is it possible?

benzorlb wrote:... The thing is, I was always under the impression that the orthodontist and surgeon have to work together and constantly talk to make sure things are going right as you prepare for jaw surgery. I told him that, and he said that he can get advice from the referred surgeon if he needs, but it's going to be him taking care of me for the next two years or so to align my teeth for surgery, and that I don't need to have surgery done under his referred surgeon and I can definitely switch.

What do you think about this? How does it sound? Is it possible?

It's possible, but ideally you want the orthodontist and surgeon to be talking regularly. Otherwise you're getting duplicate x-rays, confusing instructions on elastics, etc. I would be most concerned about getting the right surgeon.

The bigger question is determining what exactly will done surgically that you need to be prepared for. I don't see how you'd know that without having a surgeon already selected.

I was preparing for jaw surgery as well, or 18months with braces and ortho. I had seen his recommended surgeon for a consult at the very beginning, and I was fine with having surgery with him, but when I was surgery ready that surgeon had a 6+ month waiting list...that didn't work for me, so I went to another surgeon 3 hours away (I went from Canada to the US), my ortho (and his office staff) and the surgeon (and his office staff) had no problem communicating for the 2months prior to surgery as prep. The surgeon's office told the ortho what I needed as far as surgical hooks, ect, the ortho put them on, then I went back to ortho 6 weeks after surgery...that was that. There was no real strong need for constant communication. If the ortho can get you surgery ready, than any surgeon should be able to do your case.

best of luck!

It's nice to coordinate the treatment plan with a surgeon as well as the orthodontist prior to starting the orthodontics. There are different ways to treatment plan the same person and everyone involved (surgeon, orthodontist and patient) being on the same page only helps but is not completely necessary.

I agree. The Ortho and Surgeon don't have to have that much communication or that close of a relationship in order to take care of your needs. If you trust your ortho, then you may be able to give the surgeon he recommended a chance. If you decide to go with another surgeon, I don't think it would be that big of a deal. It's your face, so you have to make the call, but I think I would prefer the recommendation of a person in the same field (ie - the ortho) over my personal feelings. Your ortho has most likely worked with this surgeon numerous times and knows he will do a good job on you. Think of it the same as just about any other service you pay for; car repair, roofing work, tax preparation. What is more important to you - how well you get along with the person or the quality of their work?