Age to start journey

[Chicagomom]

Hi all!

I have a 10 year old daughter who has a gummy smile, 10mm over jet and I have been told that she will need jaw surgery to get the best outcome. She is missing two of her bottom teeth which lead to the skeletal issue. What age do you recommend I take her to meet a surgeon? She had an expanded already and a first round of braces a while back. If you can recommend someone in Chicago who would be a good person to talk to, that would also be helpful. Thanks!

[EWUgal15]

Most of what I've read says that surgery should take place after growth of the jaw has completed, usually age 16 in girls and 18 in boys. I'm not sure why there's an age difference. And not being a surgeon, orthodontist, or any kind of expert, my advice is to meet with a couple of different orthodontists for consultations and get a feel for the various treatment plans that are out there. I would definitely meet with orthodontists first as they have appliances that can encourage bones to grow certain ways. They will also refer you to a surgeon if they think it's necessary.

[sirwired]

For orthognathic surgery, the process starts with an orthodontist, who refers you to an oral surgeon if necessary. Really, many patients don't even meet with the surgeon for the first time until just a couple of weeks before surgery, which is after at least a year or so in pre-surgery ortho.

[tinymandibleAZ]

[quote="sirwired"]For orthognathic surgery, the process starts with an orthodontist, who refers you to an oral surgeon if necessary. Really, many patients don't even meet with the surgeon for the first time until just a couple of weeks before surgery, which is after at least a year or so in pre-surgery ortho.[/quote]


Wow, I was unaware of that! Now I am confused. How do these "preauthorizations" get filed with the insurance company way in advance -- 1 to 2 years -- of the surgery then? I know that the preauths are filed by the surgeon, not the ortho.

[EWUgal15]

Wow, I was unaware of that! Now I am confused. How do these "preauthorizations" get filed with the insurance company way in advance -- 1 to 2 years -- of the surgery then? I know that the preauths are filed by the surgeon, not the ortho.

The process varies from person to person based on their treatment plan. I met my surgeon for a consult about 2 weeks before I had my braces put on. The consult was an appointment to discuss extractions prior to braces and my BSSO. I saw him pretty regularly for a year leading up to surgery. They submitted a preauthorization for BSSO after my consult, providing the measurements that would be needed to prove that the procedure was medically necessary. Since they couldn't provide a surgery date, the preauthorization took about 6-8 weeks to process and was sort of a blanket thing that expired on a certain day. That meant that another would need to be submitted prior to the surgery. Once they had a surgery date set in stone, getting a new preauthorization back was much faster.