Kayla's Braces/Story

[KaylaChristine]

Hello everyone! I'm new here and thought I'd make an intro post with some back story of myself before I really got into posting more!! I'll try and keep this short.

I started to develop an underbite at around 7 years old or so. By the time I was 10 I had lost all but 3 or 4 of my teeth on top (I can't recall when I lost bottom teeth). At the age of 10 I still had my baby teeth for my canines. I had lost both of my front incisors around age 8 or 9. The left front incisor came in shortly after I lost it....the right one did not. X-ray's showed that I had two adult teeth for my right incisor. I had a surgery at 10 years old (ugh, talk about scary!) to remove one of them. The surgery went well and the surgeon told me that the other tooth would come down in a couple months....well...it never did. It ended up being impacted on it's side in my mouth. I lost my canines later that year and as luck would have it BOTH of them were impacted on their sides.

I finally got braces on my top teeth at age 14. My teeth were extremely crooked due to all the missing teeth. The teeth were straight enough for surgery to expose the impacted teeth by the time I was 16. Unfortunately, my upper jaw was too small for the 3 missing teeth. My surgeon decided it would be best to remove two of the premolars to make room for the front incisor and the canines. For my second surgery my dad couldn't afford for me to be put to sleep (only parent--my mother passed away when I was 2) so I had to be under local anesthesia this time. The second surgery included the following: removal of all wisdom teeth, removal of 2 premolars on top, and exposure of both impacted canines---one canine was in the roof of my mouth! The surgeon decided to wait to expose the front incisor because I was already getting so much done to my poor little mouth. The canines were moved in and straightened by the time I was 18. All I had left to do at the time was get my front incisor in. As luck would have it....my dad had missed too many payments on my braces & and my orthodontist demanded the rest of the balance ($1600) be paid up front or the braces would be removed & I would need to seek treatment elsewhere. I was absolutely crushed and panicked. I had just graduated high school and my dad was not able to come up with that much money. Thankfully, my aunt did a CD loan for me and I was able to send the orthodontist a cashier's check for the remaining amount. Shortly after that I had another local anesthetic surgery to get the front incisor moved in. I had my braces off and all of my teeth in by the time I was 20. And at the moment I was so HAPPY. I had gaps where teeth should be for years. I didn't know what it felt like to actually have teeth. I loved the feeling of running my tongue across my top teeth.

That happiness didn't last long....I had been so concerned with getting all of my impacted teeth down that I completely ignored my worsening underbite all those years. My orthodontist mentioned to me when I got braces that I needed jaw surgery to fix my bite, but at the time I didn't care. I was so focused on my other issues. As soon as the braces were off I asked for a consult for my jaw surgery. At the time I thought I just needed the bottom jaw moved back....that's not the case. The surgeon told me that I would need braces again (yuck) and that my top jaw was actually too small and played a big factor in my bite. So yep, double jaw surgery. My top jaw needs moved forward and my bottom jaw needs moved back. He didn't know how much it would be moved at the time. I would first need to get 2 premolars on the bottom removed (to match the top jaw) and straighten the teeth & fix the crossbite to see how much they will need moved. I had insurance through work at the time and decided to submit it to insurance to see if it would get approved. It was in November, maybe early December when the submitted it to insurance....well I had to drop insurance the next year because I was broke. So it never got approved and it never got done. Though, I honestly wouldn't have been able to afford to even get braces on at the time anyway so...

Fast forward 3-1/2ish years and I'm now trying to pursue the double jaw surgery. My husband just started a new job back in March and while reading over the benefits booklet for health insurance I noticed that the insurance covers the surgery if it is deemed medically necessary. The major catch?....I can't be older than 26 to get it done. I turned 24 in late June...so I have until June of 2017 to get it done. I have an orthodontist appointment on June 22nd and after that she'll get me a consult with a surgeon & he'll submit the surgery to my insurance. My insurance is BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas and my husband is a State Employee (not sure if it matters). The insurance appears to be pretty decent. I really hope the surgery is approved. I fear I'll never be able to get it done if it's not approved. My max out of pocket is around $4,000....and I know I could come up with that in the next year and a half. I'm just so scared and nervous.

My underbite is 15mm of where it should be....I'd like to think it's bad enough to get approved but I just don't know. I'll take some pictures of my bite later and share them...maybe...if I'm brave enough lol.

As I'm sure some of you know, living with an underbite is hard. Not only have the eating complications, jaw popping/locking issued, the wear on your teeth, etc., but the blow to your self-esteem and confidence.


That was much longer than I planned....sorry! There's more I could mention but I'll save that for a later post lol.

[KaylaChristine]

I meant I have an orthodontist appointment on July 22nd...not June lol. Sorry for any typos! I'd fixed them but I can't yet.

[newbite]

you are considering surgery at a good time since you're still very young (and that's great about the insurance covering it!). I have a class III bite and apparently will have an actual underbite once my teeth are straightened (right now my bottom teeth point inwards and my top teeth outwards so that it doesn't "look" like an underbite since the top teeth overlap the bottom a bit). I would seriously consider having surgery if I knew my insurance would cover it. I would love to see pictures if you feel up to posting them (I am obsessively comparing my bite with other people's and their treatment haha). good luck with your ortho appointment!

[KaylaChristine]

Thanks newbite! Good luck with your treatment!! If my surgery gets approved I'll post pictures of my bite...

The orthodontist took much more accurate measurments of my bite. My underbite is 10 mm. I met with the surgeon yesterday and I should hear back about insurance approval in 3 weeks. I'd like to think it will get approved but I'd just hate to get my hopes up about it. The surgeon and orthodontist decided that it would be best to widen my upper jaw rather than taking out two bottom premolars. The upper would be widened during the double jaw surgery. That means I might have to have implants put in up on the top jaw to replace the two premolars that were removed...I'm not certain on this yet though. They said I'd have braces on for approximately a year before the surgery. If all goes well and it gets approved I'll probably get braces on the second week in October. I'd like to get then before then, but that's the soonest I'll have the down payment for the braces. If it doesn't get approved....I won't be able to get anything done

My surgeon said the surgey always gets denied the first time they submit it but usually always gets approved the second time they submit it. I'm so nervous! I'll be absolutely devasted if it gets denied. I even dreamt about it last night! The next several weeks are going to be rough...


For those of you that live in the U.S. and have had double jaw surgery that was approved by insurance---is the amount you pay out of pocket typically your max out of pocket for the year? I have BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas.

[bbqmax]

Good luck !

[lainii]

Good luck! I'm sure your teeth will end up amazing.

[KaylaChristine]

Thanks! After 56 days of waiting I finally got the approval for my double jaw surgery from my health insurance! I'll be getting braces on October 14th and will have the surgery about a year from now.

[ayelen]

Good luck!

[KaylaChristine]

Top and bottom braces are on. They are killing me lol. I got clear brackets on the top. Four spacers on molars on top. I go back next Wednesday to remove the spacers and put bands on my molars (I think that's what she was saying at least).

My orthodontist is using SureSmile. Has anyone else been treated using it?

[Uptown Girl]

Glad to hear you have your braces on. Mine are going on at midday tomorrow. One of the spacers is half out so it is really annoying. I'm picking up the waterpik today so will have a go with it before the braces go on.

Are they really that bad?

[KaylaChristine]

Yours might not be as bad. I generally have pretty sensitive teeth so I expected mine to ache really bad. I couldn't chew food at all yesterday. I'm able to lightly chew scrambled eggs today. My teeth are still pretty tender but they feel a lot better today. Hopefully yours don't cause you too much pain.

If it hurts for you to eat after I definitely recommend buying a can of Chef Boyardee mini ravioli (if they have it where you live) and then mashing it up when it's cooked. It didn't require any chewing and was much more satisfying than the soup I had for lunch yesterday.

[Uptown Girl]

Sitting in orthodontist waiting room. Just wrote cheque for massive amount. Not long to go now.

[Ridingboots]

It sounds like you have been to hell and back with you teeth and hopefully now that your insurance has come through you can improve everything 100% and start enjoy your smile

How long has it been estimated to have your teeth fix and when will your jaw surgery likely to happen.

I am in similar circumstances but instead have a overbite issue but also looking forward to 2 years in braces, double jaw surgery in approximately a years time and at some stage an expander.

[KaylaChristine]

I'll be in braces about a year before the double jaw surgery and then probably another year after the surgery. The surgeon is also going to expand my upper during the surgery. I'll be fitted with an appliance before the surgery.

[KaylaChristine]

Just thought I'd check in real quick. I had a bracket brake off the other day (due to my crossbite) & went to the ortho today to get it replaced. They also changed my wires again (3 weeks early!). The orthodontist is really pleased with my movement so far. She thinks I'll be ready for the double jaw surgery this summer. I get molds taken 12 weeks from now to get a better idea of my progress.