Re: Surgeon Visit Questions

[Guest guest]

Hi Andy,

I had one visit with my surgeon about 22 months before I had my

official pre-surgery workup. I'm not entirely sure what my ortho sent

to him, but I think it was just xrays and other documents. No molds,

to my knowledge. At that consultation, he basically just told us what

he was going to do to me, and answered some pretty silly questions we

had (I had not discovered this group at that point, which was

actually probably a good thing, as I might have chickened out).

The surgeon didn't do any pictures, workups or molds until the week

before my surgery. There really wasn't any need for him to do the

molds until I was ready for surgery - they are used for mock surgery.

I think it was pretty obvious to him what I needed to have done (I

had an overjet, retrognathic lower jaw, and gummy smile), but even a

week before surgery he wasn't 100% sure (he talked about possibly

expanding the upper, which he didn't have to do after all) - he

needed the final molds to plan exactly what he was going to do.

Are you sure you're happy with your " anal-retentive " ortho? You'll be

dealing with him for quite awhile ...

[Guest guest]

,

My " anal retentive " ortho is RENOUND (argh, that word will be the end

of me!) in his field and graudated first in his class at the most

prestigious dental school in Michigan. That would also explain the

cost of this guy.. I'm really impressed by how my teeth have moved

already, but the guy as a (pardon my french) asshole. He doesn't know

my name yet, except when I handed him a check for almost 8 grand!!

Argh.. anyways, I'm just hoping that things will get better. We'll

see. I guess (according to my surgeon) my ortho is the " king of

timing " and that everything revolves around him. I'm not really sure

if that's a GOOD thing, but we'll see.

Take Care,

Andy

PS. How's the chewing going? Pizza... yummmmm! I'm envious!

[Guest guest]

Hi Andy,

Maybe you need to ask your ortho, jokingly, how much more he charges

to remember his patients' names? Or how about wearing a " My name is

_____ " sticker next time. I would sure have fun with that one! Does

he have any sense of humour at all?

I don't care how many degrees somebody has, what school they went to,

or where they finished in their class, it's what they do that counts

for me. Hopefully your guy is getting the results you want, and has

satisfied patients to back that up.

I'm eating almost everything now, but some things require more effort

than others, chewing-wise. I had a calzone (knife & fork) the other

day - that's as close as I've come to pizza. It was a treat the other

night to be able to bite into an orange slice with my front teeth

successfully, rather than side-saddle as I have in the past. It's

still a surprising thing to be able to do that!

[Guest guest]

Hey Andy,

I'm sorry to hear that your ortho is an a-1 jerk. *That* I can relate

to... unfortunately, my (ex) ortho was also not very good (so... he has

nothing to make up for his lack of personality). has some great

ideas... I mean... hey... if he wants to be a jerk... you have more than

the right to try to lighten the mood.

I agree with though... it doesn't matter how many degrees a person

has, or what marks they got in school... or how much money they happened

to have lying in their laps so that you could *go* to school, it doesn't

give anyone the right to treat you like the gum under their shoe...

especially when they're supposed to be the ones *helping* you.

, Congratulations on being able to bite into an orange... that's

pretty amazing. I've never tried that after my first not so great

experience trying that as a kid... which is why I'm so glad that oranges

naturally come in little pieces...

You know what I find strange? The number of people who don't actually

*believe* that a person with a misaligned jaw can't bite into things

that require cutting (ie: not just the grinding action of the molars),

until I have to actually demonstrate (which is kind of disgusting).

Incredible.

Had something on my mind... ah well, might as well get it all out in one

e-mail...

I was reading some of 's past posts (and she doesn't have an

e-dress listed, so I'll ask her here for help), and I read that the

surgery would cost around the ballpark of $21,000 (Canadian). This is

distressing, seeing as I can't afford that... and I'm sure as doodly

that my parents aren't going to afford that...

I was wondering about insurance... and I keep reading that this surgery

is considered cosmetic... even if one is feeling pain/has a speech

impediment/has problems eating? It seems like a person has to be on the

brink of death to get insurance to cover any part of this procedure.

So.. weighing on my mind...

Sorry to rant...

fiddlesticks22000 wrote:

> Hi Andy,

>

> Maybe you need to ask your ortho, jokingly, how much more he charges

> to remember his patients' names? Or how about wearing a " My name is

> _____ " sticker next time. I would sure have fun with that one! Does

> he have any sense of humour at all?

>

> I don't care how many degrees somebody has, what school they went to,

> or where they finished in their class, it's what they do that counts

> for me. Hopefully your guy is getting the results you want, and has

> satisfied patients to back that up.

>

> I'm eating almost everything now, but some things require more effort

> than others, chewing-wise. I had a calzone (knife & fork) the other

> day - that's as close as I've come to pizza. It was a treat the other

> night to be able to bite into an orange slice with my front teeth

> successfully, rather than side-saddle as I have in the past. It's

> still a surprising thing to be able to do that!

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I know how you feel, Andy. It's really frustrating not knowing what

the hell these appointments are all about. Sometimes I feel like a

complete idiot about this process.

I've had my braces on for almost two years now, and my ortho thinks

I'm getting close, so she's sent my progress molds over to my surgeon.

I'm now waiting for them to call me back WHEN a date becomes free in

January for me just to see him. They can't even book the appointment yet!

Not to mention that I have no idea what he'll be doing at this

appointment, except that the lady (nurse?) at his office called it a

" rejaw " appointment when I called to make the appointment. Anyone know

what the hell that is?

Anyway, I'm with you on this. Let us know what happens at your

appointment. Good luck!

> Hi all,

>

> Like I posted before, I had my first surgeon visit last saturday. I

> was scheduled to have another appointment after Christmas, but I

> don't know for WHAT. My first visit I did the normal things,

> pictures, workup, blah blah. I didn't get molds, and my ortho is anal

> retentive and won't send the ones I did there, so is it for that??

> Any idea?

>

> Thanks

> Andy

[Guest guest]

Never heard of a " rejaw " appointment. You spose it means " regarding

the jaw, " as contrasted to prep for wisdom tooth removal, or cancer

excision or other delightful things?

I can tell you that my surgeon took about two hours with me at the

first appointment. He wiggled my lower jaw. Studied my x-rays. Looked

in my mouth. Had me bite 15 ways. And outlined exactly what he

planned to do. Told me about the risks and possible benefits. Told me

what to do in the way of pre-op stuff to get ready. Answered all my

questions (which I'd sent him in advance) and let me ask any more

that arose. Told me how the surgery would work... When I'd check in

at the hospital and why, and how he'd take care of me post-op. It

made me feel sooooo much better about the whole thing.

My surgeon used my ortho's molds for the practice surgeries. They let

me watch the one where they just chopped on the jaw and put it back

together with wax, but not the one where he did the actual cuts that

he'd do in the procedure.

Cammie

> > Hi all,

> >

> > Like I posted before, I had my first surgeon visit last saturday.

I

> > was scheduled to have another appointment after Christmas, but I

> > don't know for WHAT. My first visit I did the normal things,

> > pictures, workup, blah blah. I didn't get molds, and my ortho is

anal

> > retentive and won't send the ones I did there, so is it for

that??

> > Any idea?

> >

> > Thanks

> > Andy

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Cammie.

I'm pretty sure he will be having another look at my jaw, now that I'm

2 years into orthodontics, to determine if I'm ready yet. Hopefully

the answer to that question will be a resounding " yes " .

Do you think this is the time to hit him up for a letter to send to my

insurance company? I really have no idea how to go about that, but I'd

really like to get that ball rolling.

> > > Hi all,

> > >

> > > Like I posted before, I had my first surgeon visit last saturday.

> I

> > > was scheduled to have another appointment after Christmas, but I

> > > don't know for WHAT. My first visit I did the normal things,

> > > pictures, workup, blah blah. I didn't get molds, and my ortho is

> anal

> > > retentive and won't send the ones I did there, so is it for

> that??

> > > Any idea?

> > >

> > > Thanks

> > > Andy

[Guest guest]

Hey .

I'm in Edmonton, and as far as I understand it, you're looking at

around $2000-$3000 per jaw (upper/lower) for the surgeon's fees. I'm

not sure how much genio would be, if you should need it. And of

course, there are a few consultation fees here and there.

Our Alberta Health Care covers the hospital costs here

(anaesthetician, overnight stay, etc), so I assume the same would be

true with your provincial health care plan.

If I'm way off base here, please do correct me. Since I'm still pre-op

and waiting to see my surgeon for only the second time, I'm not

exactly an expert.

Good luck!

>

> > Hi Andy,

> >

> > Maybe you need to ask your ortho, jokingly, how much more he charges

> > to remember his patients' names? Or how about wearing a " My name is

> > _____ " sticker next time. I would sure have fun with that one! Does

> > he have any sense of humour at all?

> >

> > I don't care how many degrees somebody has, what school they went to,

> > or where they finished in their class, it's what they do that counts

> > for me. Hopefully your guy is getting the results you want, and has

> > satisfied patients to back that up.

> >

> > I'm eating almost everything now, but some things require more effort

> > than others, chewing-wise. I had a calzone (knife & fork) the other

> > day - that's as close as I've come to pizza. It was a treat the other

> > night to be able to bite into an orange slice with my front teeth

> > successfully, rather than side-saddle as I have in the past. It's

> > still a surprising thing to be able to do that!

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks for the info...

I'm in the next province over... B.C. (I'm... repeating myself, aren't

I. )... and I'm trying to do the math in my head to get a somewhat

ballpark figure of what I'm going to be paying...

so... 3000 per jaw. as far as I know... my upper palate/jaw is fine..

so... 3000 for the actual surgeon's fees... I don't know about genio...

I'll deal with a little chin for a while if need be (need jaw to be

fixed though.).

So... MSP (ie: provincial health care) *would* cover the anaesthetician

(wonderful long word) etc. etc. in hospital... great... the 3000 for the

surgery and the 6000 for the braces is a much more manageable amount

than the original 21,000 I first thought I was going to shell out (I

think I may have been reading too many posts... because I think there

was someone who posted that amount... but then again.. she could have

been getting more things done than I would be getting done).

You are miles ahead of me... I don't even know what would cover

what...!!

Hmm... and how would I bring up the subject of monthly payments? I read

a post saying that a good opening line would be " How much would the

payments be " ... would that really work? I mean... it's unreasonable to

think that one would have the lump sum just... sitting there to be paid

off immediately... wouldn't they?

Thanks for writing.. Good to hear from another canuck... (and

hopefully Alberta's plan is derned close to BC's plan...).

" Turtlegirl203 " wrote:

> Hey .

>

> I'm in Edmonton, and as far as I understand it, you're looking at

> around $2000-$3000 per jaw (upper/lower) for the surgeon's fees. I'm

> not sure how much genio would be, if you should need it. And of

> course, there are a few consultation fees here and there.

>

> Our Alberta Health Care covers the hospital costs here

> (anaesthetician, overnight stay, etc), so I assume the same would be

> true with your provincial health care plan.

>

> If I'm way off base here, please do correct me. Since I'm still pre-op

>

> and waiting to see my surgeon for only the second time, I'm not

> exactly an expert.

>

> Good luck!

>

>

>

--

Get busy livin' or get busy dyin' - Andy Dufresne, " The Shawshank

Redemption "

[Guest guest]

Hey .

About the payment plan...my ortho's office suggested it to me on the

first visit. I let them know that none of my treatment was covered by

my employer's insurance plan, and they immediately let me know that I

could pay for the braces over the time of treatment (they estimated 2

years).

The total cost for my braces is $5000 plus a little extra at the end

for retainers. Over two years, I'm paying $140 a month. Oh, and I had

to pay 3 big payments of around $500 at the beginning - kinda like a

down payment. It's not a trivial amount, but I've found it manageable.

As for the surgeon's fees, I've heard that you can do the same thing

with them, but since I haven't seen my surgeon since I got my braces

on, I haven't been able to discuss it with him. As soon as I see him

and discuss it, I'll let you know what I find out.

Keep us posted on what you decide. Talk to ya again soon.

>

> > Hey .

> >

> > I'm in Edmonton, and as far as I understand it, you're looking at

> > around $2000-$3000 per jaw (upper/lower) for the surgeon's fees. I'm

> > not sure how much genio would be, if you should need it. And of

> > course, there are a few consultation fees here and there.

> >

> > Our Alberta Health Care covers the hospital costs here

> > (anaesthetician, overnight stay, etc), so I assume the same would be

> > true with your provincial health care plan.

> >

> > If I'm way off base here, please do correct me. Since I'm still pre-op

> >

> > and waiting to see my surgeon for only the second time, I'm not

> > exactly an expert.

> >

> > Good luck!

> >

> >

> >

>

> --

> Get busy livin' or get busy dyin' - Andy Dufresne, " The Shawshank

> Redemption "

>

>

>

>