The Long Road to Having a Normally Functioning Mouth
I don't know if this really has a purpose. It's more of me just wanting to get the frustration out.
Basically, my mouth is messed up. I had braces for 6 years as a kid (from 1st-7th grade), and I still have a ton of problems.
The biggest issue is that my jaw will not close all the way. When I hit puberty, my upper jaw kept growing, and my lower jaw couldn't keep up. I had to wait until I finished growing before the issue could be addressed. By that time, I had developed a pretty bad situation. Essentially, my lower jaw cannot wrap around my upper jaw, which means that instead of all of my teeth coming together like they should, my lower jaw catches on my upper jaw too high up, so I only have four teeth in the very back that touch (one upper and one lower on the right side, and the same on the left). I cannot close my teeth fully. It occasionally causes jaw pain, and eating can be difficult (though I've managed to cope), but if it isn't fixed, eventually those teeth will pulverize because they are taking the full force of my bite instead of it being distributed throughout my mouth. When my family learned of that, I was 18, but insurance wouldn't cover it. Fast forward 8 years, and now I have insurance that seems like it will cover the jaw surgery.
Before I can have the surgery, I have to get braces. Since my teeth have never had to fit together properly in a bite, they are not in the correct spots. So I will need to get braces to move them back to the correct positions. However, when the orthodontist took some models of my teeth to see what he needed to do, he found out that my upper jaw is too narrow to fit my lower jaw. That means I may have to have two separate jaw procedures. Furthermore, because the teeth need to do more moving than expected, instead of what I had hoped would be a 6-month process for braces (meaning I could get my jaw surgery done this summer, which is ideal since I'm a teacher and need to be able to speak) looks like it could be anywhere from 12-24 months of braces before I can even have the surgery. I will also need braces after the surgery to make sure that my teeth don't move anywhere afterwards.
Before I can get the braces, I have to have gum surgery. Because of my 6 years with braces coupled with overly vigorous brushing, I have major gum recession that, if it isn't addressed, means my teeth could just fall out because there aren't any gums to hold my teeth in place. The recession is so bad and widespread that it is impossible for me to donate my own tissue for the procedures needed. I will have to have two procedures done. One on the right side of my mouth, and then, after I've recovered, I can have the left side done. This will enable me to continue to eat while half my mouth heals.
I had the first gum surgery today. It was two hours of putting new gum tissue in my mouth. Local anesthesia. It wasn't too bad, but my mouth is really sore right now. Feels like I got decked in the face.
The thing that really is tough is insurance. The jaw surgery is under medical, but the braces and gum surgery are dental. So far, it looks like the medical will cover the jaw surgery. However, I just heard back from my dental insurance, and it turns out they only cover $1000 of expenses for the year, and I only had just over $700 of that left. The gum surgeries will cost over $10,000, and the orthodontics will cost around $6000.
It really sucks, and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do financially. However, if I don't have these procedures done, I'm going to have more dental issues in the future. I'm moving forward with it, but I'll have to figure out how to pay for stuff.
Thanks for reading. I know it's not super thrilling or anything. I just wanted to get my thoughts out.
UPDATE 1: November 16, 2016
I have recovered from the gum surgery on the right side of my mouth. The sutures were removed today, and I can eat normally again for the first time since October 26. I will enjoy Thanksgiving and being able to eat whatever I want, and then I will have the same surgery on the left side of my mouth done November 29. I'm looking forward to my almost two weeks of normalcy before wading back into the mess that is my mouth.
UPDATE 2: November 30, 2016
I had the second round of gum surgery yesterday evening. Gosh, it was painful, and I was pretty miserable for the rest of the day. However, this procedure was smaller than the last one (6 teeth vs. 9 teeth), and I'm feeling much better today. There's definitely some residual pain, but it's not too bad. I'm not looking forward to having to eat liquid food for another week after getting to binge over Thanksgiving, but hey, at least I got to do that.
Basically, my mouth is messed up. I had braces for 6 years as a kid (from 1st-7th grade), and I still have a ton of problems.
The biggest issue is that my jaw will not close all the way. When I hit puberty, my upper jaw kept growing, and my lower jaw couldn't keep up. I had to wait until I finished growing before the issue could be addressed. By that time, I had developed a pretty bad situation. Essentially, my lower jaw cannot wrap around my upper jaw, which means that instead of all of my teeth coming together like they should, my lower jaw catches on my upper jaw too high up, so I only have four teeth in the very back that touch (one upper and one lower on the right side, and the same on the left). I cannot close my teeth fully. It occasionally causes jaw pain, and eating can be difficult (though I've managed to cope), but if it isn't fixed, eventually those teeth will pulverize because they are taking the full force of my bite instead of it being distributed throughout my mouth. When my family learned of that, I was 18, but insurance wouldn't cover it. Fast forward 8 years, and now I have insurance that seems like it will cover the jaw surgery.
Before I can have the surgery, I have to get braces. Since my teeth have never had to fit together properly in a bite, they are not in the correct spots. So I will need to get braces to move them back to the correct positions. However, when the orthodontist took some models of my teeth to see what he needed to do, he found out that my upper jaw is too narrow to fit my lower jaw. That means I may have to have two separate jaw procedures. Furthermore, because the teeth need to do more moving than expected, instead of what I had hoped would be a 6-month process for braces (meaning I could get my jaw surgery done this summer, which is ideal since I'm a teacher and need to be able to speak) looks like it could be anywhere from 12-24 months of braces before I can even have the surgery. I will also need braces after the surgery to make sure that my teeth don't move anywhere afterwards.
Before I can get the braces, I have to have gum surgery. Because of my 6 years with braces coupled with overly vigorous brushing, I have major gum recession that, if it isn't addressed, means my teeth could just fall out because there aren't any gums to hold my teeth in place. The recession is so bad and widespread that it is impossible for me to donate my own tissue for the procedures needed. I will have to have two procedures done. One on the right side of my mouth, and then, after I've recovered, I can have the left side done. This will enable me to continue to eat while half my mouth heals.
I had the first gum surgery today. It was two hours of putting new gum tissue in my mouth. Local anesthesia. It wasn't too bad, but my mouth is really sore right now. Feels like I got decked in the face.
The thing that really is tough is insurance. The jaw surgery is under medical, but the braces and gum surgery are dental. So far, it looks like the medical will cover the jaw surgery. However, I just heard back from my dental insurance, and it turns out they only cover $1000 of expenses for the year, and I only had just over $700 of that left. The gum surgeries will cost over $10,000, and the orthodontics will cost around $6000.
It really sucks, and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do financially. However, if I don't have these procedures done, I'm going to have more dental issues in the future. I'm moving forward with it, but I'll have to figure out how to pay for stuff.
Thanks for reading. I know it's not super thrilling or anything. I just wanted to get my thoughts out.
UPDATE 1: November 16, 2016
I have recovered from the gum surgery on the right side of my mouth. The sutures were removed today, and I can eat normally again for the first time since October 26. I will enjoy Thanksgiving and being able to eat whatever I want, and then I will have the same surgery on the left side of my mouth done November 29. I'm looking forward to my almost two weeks of normalcy before wading back into the mess that is my mouth.
UPDATE 2: November 30, 2016
I had the second round of gum surgery yesterday evening. Gosh, it was painful, and I was pretty miserable for the rest of the day. However, this procedure was smaller than the last one (6 teeth vs. 9 teeth), and I'm feeling much better today. There's definitely some residual pain, but it's not too bad. I'm not looking forward to having to eat liquid food for another week after getting to binge over Thanksgiving, but hey, at least I got to do that.
Comments
Sometimes one needs to just open up and let it all out, and this is as good a place as any, so hopefully you can feel comfortable here with your situation. If you're looking for moral support, you will definitely get it! Stay groovy there, pard
Anyways, I hope things improve painlessly!
I know you were telling me about this, i was really hoping it would all be covered for you.
I am terrified of the dentist so i feep for you.
I wish i had any advice but i really hope you find a solution to this.
He doesn't need moral support, he needs molar support.
That one got a laugh. Nice one!
Had a dentist saw a tooth in half and then half to sit on me in order to pull it out. That was "interesting".
You'll figure out the cash end of it, don't stress. Some lines of credit have lower interest fees than credit cards, at least here in Canada. Maybe that could help. Extra couple hours of work a week for a few years and you'll have it take care of. All the best!
Also... Every time I see your Avatar I think about the Mega Man review set you did. Very thorough. Nice work!
The fact that medical and dental are handled separately is such a bizarre and perverse quirk, since something like that gum issue is a really serious and potentially dangerous condition in the long run.
I remember a buddy of mine in college needing TMJ surgery because his lower jaw was too small (stopped growing when he was 13 or 14, probably, due to a hit) and he had a tough year as a result.
Might be an odd question, but would dentures be an option at this point?
sounds like he would still need the jaw surgery. And have you seen how expensive new teeth or dentures are? I dont think thatll save any money.
As a military dentist, I do not have to deal with financial concerns with my patients thankfully. Unfortunately unless you want to join the military, I have seen your plight far to common. I wish you would have had the Orthognathic surgery when you were younger (less time in braces, less painfull and less money). I highly recommend you go through with the procedures, all of my patients who have gone through it says it is life changing (both physically and phycologically). Unfortunately, if you go the denture route without the surgery involved, the dentures will be set to your current situation, which is not beneficial. I wish you the best of luck, and thank you for being a teacher.
Interesting info. Your avatar is also quite fitting!
As a military dentist, I do not have to deal with financial concerns with my patients thankfully. Unfortunately unless you want to join the military, I have seen your plight far to common. I wish you would have had the Orthognathic surgery when you were younger (less time in braces, less painfull and less money). I highly recommend you go through with the procedures, all of my patients who have gone through it says it is life changing (both physically and phycologically). Unfortunately, if you go the denture route without the surgery involved, the dentures will be set to your current situation, which is not beneficial. I wish you the best of luck, and thank you for being a teacher.
This also brings to mind that he might want to look into if there are any local dental schools that might do the gum surgery at a significant discount.
Best of luck with all your surgeries!
Good luck man. Hopefully in a few years you'll be in great shape and be really happy that you made the moves you've started to make.
Also... Every time I see your Avatar I think about the Mega Man review set you did. Very thorough. Nice work!
Thanks. I'm still wanting to do a comprehensive comparative review of 1-6, and I'd like to do X-X3 as well.
Might be an odd question, but would dentures be an option at this point?
I'm specifically going through the gum surgery to prevent the need for dentures. However, dentures will not fix the jaw issue. I guess if I just threw in the towel and got my teeth pulled out, they could get me correctly aligned dentures, but I'd still need the jaw surgery (in addition to the tooth removal procedures).
As a military dentist, I do not have to deal with financial concerns with my patients thankfully. Unfortunately unless you want to join the military, I have seen your plight far to common. I wish you would have had the Orthognathic surgery when you were younger (less time in braces, less painfull and less money). I highly recommend you go through with the procedures, all of my patients who have gone through it says it is life changing (both physically and phycologically). Unfortunately, if you go the denture route without the surgery involved, the dentures will be set to your current situation, which is not beneficial. I wish you the best of luck, and thank you for being a teacher.
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm definitely pressing forward. It's just frustrating how some of it has to work out. I am really excited for the opportunity to eat normally, though. That will be nice.
And thank you. I love teaching, though sometimes it can be really hard.
I'm sure I've said this in the forums before, but in my life when things have seemed stacked against me and it would be easy to quit, I've just put my head down and kept going and the results have been good. Worth the struggle. Fight for the chance to at some point in your life not have to worry about this anymore. If you keep fighting I firmly believe you will eventually end up where you want to be. If you give up this thing will follow you forever.
For sure. I'm not giving up. I will see this through to the end. I'm just frustrated at all the crap that's in my way.
Congratulations! Excellent to hear you will be able to go crazy on Thanksgiving. Way to go!