Metal Mouth Message Board

I signed a treatment plan that stated I would be ready for surgery within a year. I’m about 8 months in and nothing is being arranged. They haven’t made a mold yet and are saying they’re gonna make it within a year. This makes no sense because I need to know if my surgery will be approved, and my surgeon requested to see me a month or two before they’re done with treatment. I don’t know when they’ll be done, and they haven’t made any effort to let me know. Whenever I ask I get pushed off as being inpatient, and the last comment I got was it could take less or more time they don’t know. I’m just trying to at least have everything arranged with taking time off school, and making sure my insurance covers the surgery and they aren’t making any steps moving forward. They told me when I asked they don’t talk to the surgeon until the ending process. I don’t know if I’m gonna be ready or not, and I’m not sure how to go about this situation with limited information any advice? (ps if when I go for 3d x-rays my bite fits in place before I get the mold could I proceed with the surgery or will they not let me)

Hi Honey Bee,
Unfortunately your teeth don't always cooperate in timelines that are given. Each patient is different and may go a little faster or a little slower. My timing lag between surgery and when it was estimated I would have the surgery was probably 3 to six months off. In regards to the insurance approval; the oral surgeons office will be responsible for pre-certifying your procedure and this is generally done ~ 3 months before. My approval actually took about 4 weeks to go through.

I would suggest though reaching out to oral surgeon to see if he wants to see where your teeth are in the process. My surgeon and ortho were in different states and I did not see my surgeon until ortho said I was ready. Turns out I was over-corrected for what was actually done.

Also; if you're a student, you might want to time this when you have a large chunk of time. You'll need at least 3 weeks minimum.
Karla

The surgical bite mold cannot be cast until 30 days or less from date of surgery, as your teeth will be moving quite a bit before then.

The last month or two of your braces treatment is when the surgeon will speak to your orthodontist and go over your case to make sure your teeth are in the correct position for surgery. This is fairly common, especially if the surgeon and orthodontist frequently work together.

I think you should call your surgeon's office to ask why they didn't seek pre-approval for your surgery when estimated treatment time was less than one year. The approval process often takes 6 months or more.

Other than that, this is a very long process and requires a lot of patience; you just have to trust that they do this some 16-20 times a month for probably decades.

Best of luck

Happy Holidays HoneyBee and Pierre,
I agree with Pierre with regards to having a close time lag between bite mold and surgery. I would suggest having this time lag between the two as short as feasible. I say this because there was a 1 1/2 week lag between my surgery and my bite mold and my teeth had shifted by surgery time further. I remember coming in the day prior and the bite mold not quite fitting perfectly and asking if we should do it over. My surgeon said no that it would work. If this happens to you, tell them no you want it redone. I say this because I've had serious issues with fixing my bite and I know in the end, there's only so much the ortho will be able to do. Was this the root cause? Not the sole issue but was one of many factors that resulted in a less than optimal outcome.

How did I know my bite was off?? Since the surgery, when my mouth is in repose, my teeth clack together when I'm up and walking. Kind of like if you're pushing a cart and the objects in the cart are not secure and are gosling around.

My two cents? Be patient and demand the best from both the surgeon and the ortho. Don't push to get it done quickly, push to get it done right. Take heed in the other posters who were back in the OR weeks or months later. You do not want that kind of outcome.
Karla