Another Orthodontic visit

I will not give up. I will find an orthodontist that will fix my teeth, do it right, and for a decent price.  I am getting closer!

Up until last Wednesday, I had visited three orthodontists.  All three said I needed surgery. One said to break my bottom jaw, one said to break my top jaw, and one said to break both jaws.  I would need to be in a full set of braces 9-12 months before surgery, then surgery would take place with braces on and would take up to 8-9 hours. I would then go to ICU after surgery, stay in the hospital overnight, and have my mouth rubber-banded shut for up to 6 weeks. After this, I would continue to wear the braces for another 6 months.  So in the end, it would be almost a two year ordeal and cost almost $10,000 (after insurance).

My general dentist thinks he can fix all my problems with Invisalign (only $2,000) and I have even talked to a oral surgeon who said I had 3 options.  1. Do Nothing 2. Invislign or 3. Surgery.

So I am thoroughly confused!!

I continued to look elsewhere.  I had a friend recommend an orthodontist that she said might have a different look on things and he sure did! I went and saw him last Wednesday and got a whole new outlook on the whole situation!

1.  After looking at my teeth, jaw, facial features, he stated that YES, I was definitely a candidate for surgery. My jaw is too narrow, I have a slight overbite, and my lower jaw needs to be pulled out somewhat. He said the information I got from the three orthodontists was absolutely correct, BUT he said it was not 100% necessary! He said if I wanted everything fixed perfectly, 100%, surgery would be my best option. But he kept asking me, "What do you want in the end?" I just said to eat an apple with my front teeth. :)  I would also like to stop the degeneration in my jaw and have my teeth line up. He said that if I did not want everything 100%, he had a great option for me.

He also said that I would have more trouble if I broke my jaw, especially my lower jaw.  Even though I was not blessed with a great jaw, I was blessed with a very nice chin. He said if they broke my lower jaw and moved it forward, my chin would not line up with my face anymore and I would actually need jaw reconstruction surgery!!!  I definitely do not want that!

He stated that I have to weigh the pros with the cons. He said surgery is very risky, a huge time commitment, and a lot of money. What will I get out of it? Will I be happy in the end with my teeth and jaw or will it make things worse? He said he usually recommends surgery for extreme cases, such as a huge under bite or a very small top palate. These are usually the people that when you look at them, you can tell something is not right. He says that when he looks at me, my face looks fine, so why mess it up?? 

2.  He also argued against Invisalign and what my general dentist had in mine.  My general dentist has said many times that he can fix ALL my problems with Invisalign (red flag right there!!). He said he can use it to pull my top teeth outward and straighten my bottom teeth. But this orthodontist said that will only make things worse too! He said that since my problem is my jaw, if my dentist used Invisalign to move my top teeth outward, he would only be bending my teeth outward, not actually moving them. He said my dentist would just stretch the tendons that attach my teeth to my bone and not really solve the problem. He then said that when I am done with Invisalign, my teeth will all go back where they were. :( 

He also said not to trust a general dentist with Invisalign (I said, "That's why I came here!"). He said, 1. General dentists do not diagnose teeth problems, but take molds and send them off to Invisalign to diagnose. This is not the right way to do things and nobody at Invisalign will diagnose problems! (According to this ortho, the teenagers in Costa Rica do the diagnosing!!)  2.  He also said that he has had many patients come to him and he has to straighten their teeth all over again because a general dentist has screwed them up so bad!!! When this happens, they have to pay for Invisalign out of their pockets because they already used their orthodontic insurance benefits.

3.  His recommendation to me was the following. 

Step One: An adult palate expander.(Again, every orthodontist I went to said they could not use a palate expander on an adult.)  This ortho said that yes, palate expanders on adults are not very popular, but can be done.  The problem is that the palate in an adult has already been fused shut and many orthodontists believe you cannot get that back open to expand the jaw.  This orthodontist said, "Yes, you can."  He said that he can put the palate expander in and 50% of the time, the palate will break and expand itself. The other 50%, it has to be broke to get it started.  This is where I would fall.  Since I had a palate expander when I was a teenager, my palate is reinforced (like when you break a bone), so I would need to go see an oral surgeon and they would need to crack the palate on the roof of my mouth.  He says he does this all the time and it works great. 

Once the palate is cracked, the palate expander can push my top jaw apart.  You do this by turning a key every night (Memories came back from when I had one when I was younger!!)  He said I would have this is my mouth for 3-6 months.

Step Two: Use Invisalign to straighten the rest of my teeth. Now that my top jaw would be widened, it would line up with my bottom jaw like it is supposed to! He would then work WITH Invisalign to set my teeth into position.  He would do the diagnosing and tell them where he would like my teeth to be in the end.  I would then probably wear Invisalign for awhile (2-3 years?)  He said he would just straighten the teeth on my bottom jaw.

After this, I should stop the degeneration, stop the headaches, and be able to eat an apple with my front teeth. :)

They then brought out an estimate for everything and honestly, it was just as much as any of the other orthodontists that I have been too, but this one includes the palate expander.  They then went through all the different payment plans and then I asked, "Are you a United Health care provider?"  (I don't know why I never thought about insurance until now!)  And they said, "No." What?? I finally find someone who doesn't want to do surgery and they are not a provider!! UGH! My $2000 orthodontic benefit still applied, but I did not get a negotiated rate like I would anywhere else- this usually took another $1500-$2000 off! But honestly, the final number was in the same range as some of the other orthodonists I went to earlier.

In addition to this fee, I would also have the oral surgeon fee for splitting my palate, which would be another chunk of money.

It is definitely worth thinking about.  Matt wants me to call around (to yet more orthodontists) and see if they can use an adult palate expander AND be a provider under our insurance plan!  Ugh, I don't know how many more I can talk to!!! At least I know what I am looking for now!