Anticipation

A little over 12 hours to go and I've been feeling pretty antsy all week about wanting to get this thing started. Part of the reason is that I know that in most cases, insurance won't cover this surgery as they view it to be cosmetic. I hope that doesn't happen to me. After all, this surgery can cost upwards of $35,000!

Reading over my benefits package with Blue Shield, I see that orthognathic surgery is covered "when it is medically necessary to correct skeletal deformity. Certain services, such as implants and orthodontia are not covered." I know that orthodontia is not covered by medical insurance. Personally, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't cover this surgery.

Sadly, Delta Dental only covers $1,000 for orthodontics, but the price for that is somewhat reasonable in comparison to the rest of the surgery. I can manage the price for braces with payments. I have read, however, that dental insurance companies cover the cost of braces in extreme cases of orthognathic surgery. This makes me wonder if I qualify.

The other reason I'm feeling antsy is because I've been wanting to get this done for a long time. I know this may seem odd because I know there is a lot of pain associated with orthodontic appliances (braces), but I'm looking forward to it. The braces, not the pain. I'm crazy, not a masochist.

Thus far, I've been thinking over the procedure and making predictions about what will have to happen before this whole thing can be started with braces. I'm predicting that I will have to see an oral surgeon prior to getting the braces to have teeth #2, #11, #15, #22, and #27 removed prior to getting braces. Teeth #22 and #27 will probably be removed in order to make room to straighten and align my lower incisors (lower front teeth). Teeth #2 and #15 (the upper 2nd molars) may have to be removed. There's nothing wrong with the teeth themselves with the exception being that there's nothing to keep them from descending since there are no molars on the bottom to stop them. Tooth #11 (the left lateral incisor or canine tooth) may be removed for symmetry as tooth #6 is impacted (the tooth rests below the gumline, in my case at a nearly 30 degree angle).

I'm also wondering how it is that the orthodontist can correct my midline (the space between the front teeth) deviation as the midline of the maxilla is deviated a few millimeters to my right in comparison to my mandible. I think the whole thing was caused by tooth #11 growing in and pushing the other teeth over to my right.

Well, all of this is great fodder for a blog for tomorrow. I'll update you all on what I find out. Wish me luck! =)

In the meantime, I recommend these links for you to watch. These videos were made by a girl in Australia who had this surgery done about 10 months ago, starting from 1 week pre-op to 3 weeks post surgery and then after having her braces removed. Check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Morgz1992#p/a/u/2/Dv9fgYUQ19w
http://www.youtube.com/user/Morgz1992#p/a/u/1/NGguq6h_LNc
http://www.youtube.com/user/Morgz1992#p/a/u/0/abliimiRTls

(Note: when counting the teeth, start from your right side and count the upper teeth all the way to your left [#1-16]. For the bottom teeth, start on your left side and count to your right [#17-32].)