4 posts tagged “braces”

Had my consultation with the oral surgeon today.  Got the usual debrief about the risk of life and limb as a result of getting surgery.  There's 1/1000 chance that any number of wonderful things could happen that would make the rest of my life fairly miserable.  I've had fairly good luck thus far so once he gets back to me about the specifics I'll say agree to the treatment.

The incision will start at the front of my upper jaw and continue through to the back. A wedge shaped piece of bone will be removed from each side.  Apparently some sort of anchors are inserted into the top jaw and attached to my braces to hold the lower part of my upper jaw in place.  The procedure requires general anesthesia.

As far as costs goes its $300 -just- to get the information set in to my insurance company. Then $1000 each for the special staples they'll put in my jaw to keep it together.  I'll need at least 2 and they've warned me that they are generally not covered by insurance.  Following surgery there's a 90 day period of free check-ups after which I may need to pay for X-rays and additional visits.  The rest of the surgery and one night hospital stay is generally covered by insurance. Thankfully I'm getting 10/hrs paid overtime until December so it won't hurt the wallet to bad.

The recovery is roughly a two week period on drugs during which I'm limited to liquids.  If my lower jaw needs to be adjusted, which it probably won't, I'll be limited to clear fluids only that doesn't bother me because my jaw would be wired shut anyway.  After 3 weeks I'll be allowed to eat soft solids.  In 6 months to a year my face will have fully recovered, assuming there are no complications requiring additional surgery.

A rough measurement of the gap in my bite suggests that my face will be shortened by about 1/2 centimeter.

I got my TADs ( no I don't know what that stands for) installed yesterday.  They gave me novacaine and then quite literally screwed two screws in my upper jaw. With a screwdriver.  I think this is wierdest piece of orthodonic equipment I've had yet.  They are used to anchor two elastics which attach to hooks on my braces and the mounting of my trans-palatal (sp?) arch to intrude my molars into my jaw.  One of the elastics promptly snapped when I got back to work yesterday so i had to go again today.  So add these to the list of things which are scarring the inside of my cheeks.  I'm so beat.  I'm definitely looking forward to them being removed. I'm definitely -not- looking forward to removal process. A year from now these little guys are going to be quite content where they are and won't want to move.

Got a quote from the orthodontist today.
6k; 4k after insurance.
Delta Dental will rue the day they ever sold me insurance.  Between this and the dentist they will be paying for 5k worth of my expenses in the comming 2 months.  I never though I'd <3 insurance so much.  I can't get the invisalign braces because my teeth are too fucked up.  They're going to put bolts in my jaw to help close my bite.
By the time I'm 25 I should be able to eat delicious food(e.g. sandwhiches and pizza) without a fork and knife and smile again.