Upcoming surgery for my son

[Guest guest]

I have a nineteen year old son with severe prognathism. We have

known since his early childhood that he would eventually require jaw

surgery. He has had extensive orthodontic care since his early teens

but his problem did not resolve. His orthodontist ( he has seen

three different ones in three different states) has recommended the

surgery for the end of this year. I have no idea how to begin

looking for the best place for him to get his surgery, obviously I

want to look for the best possible surgeon for him with the most

experience and best results. Any advice? Where should I start, how

can you tell who is the most qualified? HELP!!!

[Guest guest]

Are you still where any of the earlier orthos worked on him? If so,

ask them, assuming you were pleased with them. You also might call

one of the previous ones, tell them what's up, and ask for

recommendations.

Ask your general dentist. Ask your friends whether they've had any

experience with oral surgeons. If there's a dental school near you,

you might ask a consultation there.

When you meet the surgeon (and it doesn't hurt to meet more than one,

although mine charged something over $100 for a consult, and I only

felt I needed one) ask how many of these procedures he's done. Mine

had done 1,700+ before he got to me, two years ago.)

Check out the FAQs on Fiddlesticks' Geocities site.

Good wishes. And do ask whether the doc is sure he's finished growing!

Cammie

> I have a nineteen year old son with severe prognathism. We have

> known since his early childhood that he would eventually require

jaw

> surgery. He has had extensive orthodontic care since his early

teens

> but his problem did not resolve. His orthodontist ( he has seen

> three different ones in three different states) has recommended the

> surgery for the end of this year. I have no idea how to begin

> looking for the best place for him to get his surgery, obviously I

> want to look for the best possible surgeon for him with the most

> experience and best results. Any advice? Where should I start, how

> can you tell who is the most qualified? HELP!!!

[Guest guest]

My best advice is to start with an orthodontist you really trust.

The orthodontist is really the " quarterback " on the team, at least

that's my experience. Once you have found that orthodontist, he or

she should be able to refer you to a surgeon who (a) is qualified

and ( has worked with the orthodontist on other (hopefully

similar) cases. The orthodontist should be able to show you

photographs of other cases and explain the entire process. Every

case is documented extensively, especially the surgical cases, so if

he is experienced it should be no problem for him to prove it.

If you are forced to choose a surgeon from a list of " in-network

providers " because of health insurance reasons, get a list of those

surgeons and see if your orthodontist can choose one from the list.

I had such a list with about 30 names on it. My orthodontist read

down the list and it was a no-brainer when he saw a name he could

recommend.

Obviously you're placing a lot of faith in the orthodontist but

that's where I would start. You need an orthodontist who is very

experienced with cases similar to your son's.

Hope this helps,

Jay

> I have a nineteen year old son with severe prognathism. We have

> known since his early childhood that he would eventually require

jaw

> surgery. He has had extensive orthodontic care since his early

teens

> but his problem did not resolve. His orthodontist ( he has seen

> three different ones in three different states) has recommended

the

> surgery for the end of this year. I have no idea how to begin

> looking for the best place for him to get his surgery, obviously I

> want to look for the best possible surgeon for him with the most

> experience and best results. Any advice? Where should I start, how

> can you tell who is the most qualified? HELP!!!