How long in braces before surgery??

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Well, I'm happy to report that my upper, lower, and joint surgery has

been approved as medically necessary by Anthem BCBS. My OS is amazed

that it only took about 2 weeks for the predetermination letter to be

greeted with an approval letter from BCBS. In most cases, it takes up

to 6 months or a year! I'm so lucky.

I'm getting braces on June 6, 2005. My question is this: For someone

with a good bite and fairly straight teeth, how quickly could the jaw

surgery be performed? Since I'm in textbook sales, I don't have to

see professors over the summer. Hence, I want to get the surgery done

as quickly as possible. Is it unrealistic for me to think it could

happen in July or August?

I look forward to your responses.

Thanks,

MTB

[Guest guest]

MTB

Our individual cases are very different. I, and many others on this

site, have had their braces on for a year or more before the

surgery. The braces aren't necessarily about making your teeth

straight. Some of us have experienced that our teeth actually got

worse before the surgery. The braces are used to move your teeth to

where they need to be for the surgery.

As I said in the beginning, each individual case is very different,

so you really need to ask your orth. to find out what he intends to

do with the braces, and how long before you are ready for surgery.

> Hi all,

>

> Well, I'm happy to report that my upper, lower, and joint surgery

has

> been approved as medically necessary by Anthem BCBS. My OS is

amazed

> that it only took about 2 weeks for the predetermination letter to

be

> greeted with an approval letter from BCBS. In most cases, it

takes up

> to 6 months or a year! I'm so lucky.

>

> I'm getting braces on June 6, 2005. My question is this: For

someone

> with a good bite and fairly straight teeth, how quickly could the

jaw

> surgery be performed? Since I'm in textbook sales, I don't have

to

> see professors over the summer. Hence, I want to get the surgery

done

> as quickly as possible. Is it unrealistic for me to think it

could

> happen in July or August?

>

> I look forward to your responses.

>

> Thanks,

> MTB

[Guest guest]

Hi MTB

Well you get your braces on the same day I go in for surgery so we'll

both be celebrating a milestone of some sort:-)

Ok, you describe yourself as having a fairly good bite and straight

teeth. If this is the case then 1) why are you having the surgery and

2) why do you need the braces? What I mean is that if you're

undergoing this surgery then your bite can't be that good. I don't

mean this in a mean way, simply that if our bites were 'not that bad'

I don't think we'd be having the problems that have lead us to this

surgery, right?

I got braces put on on Nov 30th. My teeth were straight (I had a

permanent retainer on the inside arch of both my upper and lower

teeth after wearing braces for 10 yrs when I was younger). My ortho

told me it would take about 6 months before I would be ready for

surgery. As it turned out, by mid-March (3 and half months) I was

already ready but I decided to postpone the surgery for a bit so that

I could finish my master degree and use the summer to recover from

the surgery. I think I am one of the lucky ones (largely due to the

10 years of orthodontics previously done) because most people wear

braces anywhere from 8 months to 5 years! It really depends on what

your problem is. For me it was that I had a severe overbite so the

orthodontics involved some major realigning of the teeth. What you

should realize is that the orthodontics that is performed pre-surgery

is quite different from regular orthodontics for simply straightening

teeth. Often it involves making your bite look even worse just to jet

your teeth aligned properly so that when they do move your jaw

everything will sit in the right position.

Your ortho and oral surgeon should be able to give you a good ball

park idea for how long you will need to wear braces for before doing

surgery. For now, rejoyce in the fact that your insurance approved

the whole thing. That's something to toast to! Congratulations.

Sara

> Hi all,

>

> Well, I'm happy to report that my upper, lower, and joint surgery

has

> been approved as medically necessary by Anthem BCBS. My OS is

amazed

> that it only took about 2 weeks for the predetermination letter to

be

> greeted with an approval letter from BCBS. In most cases, it takes

up

> to 6 months or a year! I'm so lucky.

>

> I'm getting braces on June 6, 2005. My question is this: For

someone

> with a good bite and fairly straight teeth, how quickly could the

jaw

> surgery be performed? Since I'm in textbook sales, I don't have to

> see professors over the summer. Hence, I want to get the surgery

done

> as quickly as possible. Is it unrealistic for me to think it could

> happen in July or August?

>

> I look forward to your responses.

>

> Thanks,

> MTB

[Guest guest]

Hi Sara,

Congratulations on your forthcoming surgery. I'll be curious to

learn how everything goes for you.

I had braces twice while growing up and have had permanent retainers

behind my teeth for a few years now, due to crowding and my teeth

shifting. I'm 31 years old, so the braces have been off for 15 years

or so. Anyway, my ortho said my bite was good, but teeth could use

some straightening. He menttioned that the straightening part could

be done post op.

The reason/s I'm having jaw surgery is because I have obstructive

sleep apnea that wasn't cured through UPPP throat surgery. I also

have joint problems that need correction. I definitely have

the 'long face syndrome' without the bad bite. I'm looking forward

to sleeping better and maybe even experiencing some cosmetic benefits

after the surgery.

MTB Molly

> > Hi all,

> >

> > Well, I'm happy to report that my upper, lower, and joint surgery

> has

> > been approved as medically necessary by Anthem BCBS. My OS is

> amazed

> > that it only took about 2 weeks for the predetermination letter

to

> be

> > greeted with an approval letter from BCBS. In most cases, it

takes

> up

> > to 6 months or a year! I'm so lucky.

> >

> > I'm getting braces on June 6, 2005. My question is this: For

> someone

> > with a good bite and fairly straight teeth, how quickly could the

> jaw

> > surgery be performed? Since I'm in textbook sales, I don't have

to

> > see professors over the summer. Hence, I want to get the surgery

> done

> > as quickly as possible. Is it unrealistic for me to think it

could

> > happen in July or August?

> >

> > I look forward to your responses.

> >

> > Thanks,

> > MTB

[Guest guest]

Oh yes, the 'long face syndrome', I know it so well:-)

Well given the fact that you've worn braces already for so long then

I would say that you will be ready in no time to do the surgery but

that's my non-expert opinion and based only on my own experience. I

think that because of the fact that we wore braces for so long our

teeth tend to move a lot more quickly...at least, this was one of the

explanations that was offered to me. Either way, I'll keep my fingers

crossed for you that the pre-surgery orthodontics doesn't take too

long. I also have teeth crowding (hence the permanent retainers) and

I am having four teeth removed during surgery. Are you having this

done as well?

Sara

> > > Hi all,

> > >

> > > Well, I'm happy to report that my upper, lower, and joint

surgery

> > has

> > > been approved as medically necessary by Anthem BCBS. My OS is

> > amazed

> > > that it only took about 2 weeks for the predetermination letter

> to

> > be

> > > greeted with an approval letter from BCBS. In most cases, it

> takes

> > up

> > > to 6 months or a year! I'm so lucky.

> > >

> > > I'm getting braces on June 6, 2005. My question is this: For

> > someone

> > > with a good bite and fairly straight teeth, how quickly could

the

> > jaw

> > > surgery be performed? Since I'm in textbook sales, I don't

have

> to

> > > see professors over the summer. Hence, I want to get the

surgery

> > done

> > > as quickly as possible. Is it unrealistic for me to think it

> could

> > > happen in July or August?

> > >

> > > I look forward to your responses.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > > MTB