Any fellow support of other jaw cracking adventurers would be very much appreciated.
cheers
Are there any other adults there who have been through or will be going through jaw surgery of some kind? I'm interested to know how they handled this with the insurance or with the shame of being an adult with braces. My insurance have come up with various slippery excuses not to pay, the best being (roughly translated) 'we think you were born deformed, and yes your deformity needs an operation, but we wont pay cause some other doctor should have operated on your deformity before you were 20'. Well it's always nice to be called deformed isn't it, but even nicer to be landed with a 35,000CHF for the pleasure of solving it.
Simple solution to reduce the cost is go to Konstanz Germany the cost will drop absolutely dramatically. We have our daughter going through the process so we have names of Zahnartz in Konstanz
Your insurance may not cover it but you will drop the cost to at least 30% of the swiss rate.
Add to this the german quality matches the swiss easily, I would advise for this sort of work avoid swiss dentists
Hi!
I had jaw surgery, an osteotomy, to correct an underbite, when I was 38. The reason I didn't have surgery when I was younger was the simple fact that I didn't know anything could be done, and no-one suggested it. I asked my dentist at a six monthly check-up if anything could be done when I was, I think 35, and when he said yes I could have kissed him!
Of course, I was extremely fortunate because the whole treatment, the orthodontist, braces, x-rays, the surgery, everything, was free courtesy of the NHS. When braces were mentioned, I did have second thoughts, but not for long. In fact, think now of the celebrities having braces on their teeth for cosmetic reasons, you will be amongst the A-listers!
I can't remember the exact timescale, but I had the braces on for a couple of years before the op, I think. I was in hospital for only three days, had my bottom jaw reduced and top jaw lowered in a four hour operation. I have titanium plates in top and lower jaw.
After surgery, my jaws were 'wired' together with tiny elastic bands from top brace to bottom and could only eat liquidised food for a while. I had very little pain, and a great side effect was losing half a stone, though I wasn't very big to begin with!
I suppose this isn't very helpful because as you are in Switzerland, it won't be possible to have the surgery in the UK. I realy hope you can sort something out and get it done.
Was it worth it? One hundred and ten per cent yes! I only wish I'd had it done sooner.
Good luck, I really mean that, let us know how you get on.
Wow, thanks for the quick replies! I think that makes sense to look in germany for this. I hope its worth it, 2 years is quite a long time.
Oh it is, believe me!
hi hannah
were you really in bad condition that they decided to treat you without no cost?
because in the uk they only would treat me if i pay..nhs will only treat its affecing my health.which it is as i get neck pain etc.
where in what hospital did you go to what doctor did you see.did you see him privately first appointment . if you could explain me a bit i would be grateful
thanks
I am in a similar situation, same advice - under the swiss system, had I been born in Switzerland, it would have been dealt with under the disability insurance scheme as a child.
As an adult, I was very put off by the breaking the jaw part - the orthodentist I saw said that the dental work would be upwards of 10,000 but the surgery to fix the jaw would be an undefined cost, as it all depends what complications there are and how many days in hospital....
And no, I highly doubt that insurance covers it if it's a congenital problem...
Dental work not covered by insurance are tax deductible in some cantons if they exceed 5-10% of net income. Check website of your cantonal tax authority.
Sometimes there are other options to surgery, depending upon your objectives/needs/situation. Currently, a sweet patient of mine ( I am a dental hygienist) was given an estimate of 25,000 for the surgery/ orthodontics. He/she was almost in tears from the costs and stress of the procedure. Although I know the Orthodontist to be excellent, I could see the procedure was going to be too much, for the patient. As a sympathetic and responsible professional, I felt quite bad.
Fortunately, I have a creative and experienced boss. He, a former professor at Zürich Uni, offered "her/him" ( patient discretion...) a great alternative.
Due to the extreme open bite, he plans to increase the chewing surface, by first adding composite to the biting surface of all the posterior ( back) teeth. This will help with mastication. If this works, a more permanent material shall be added. All of this can be done, at a fraction of the costs! I could have kissed my boss for his professional, and kind, advice!
Second opinions are often helpful! Do keep a copy of your x-rays and study models ( molds), if you intend to do so.
Of course, sometimes surgery is the best alternative. The results can be amazing, especially for Class III, ( underbite) patients. It can soften the facial expression and more importantly, achieve a functioning occlusion ( bite). While the costs can be staggering, I personally would want someone local and reputable.
BTW, the patient grew up in UK and had orthodontics ( poorly done), as a kid. :-(
Thanks Susan! It sounds like your boss and I are pretty much on the same wavelength.
However, let's face it: Not so many years ago the solution suggested by your boss would have been frowned upon, not only in Switzerland. Anything not involving extensive surgery and total bridges was ridiculed as make-shift tinkering. I started using those simple techniques already in the 'seventies, and I have lots of grateful patients because of my stubborn deviationism from the established academical truth.
Lateral thinking often has a hard time in medicine, but it's experience that shows what's possible, not books.
Whilst we are on the discussion - do you want to recommend me a prosthetist to get a second opinion on options that don't include surgery+orthodontics ?
I had the surgery 16 years ago, the whole process ( consultation, fitting of braces etc) started around 18 years ago. I was referred by my dentist, no problem at all. Anyone at that time could have the treatment free.
I would imagine that since then a lot has changed in the NHS, you probably, as you say, have to have conditions which would adversely affect your health before they would consider treatment.
The orthodontist told me that if I didn't have the surgery, because of my bite, my teeth would wear in such a way that would cause future problems.
I had my orthodontic treatment at the Royal Bolton hospital by a Mr Lewis, who is probably retired by now, and my operation at the Blackburn Royal infirmary by a wonderful maxillofacial surgeon, Mr John Lowry, who sadly died a few years ago.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/...onsultant__66/
I was extremely lucky to have all this treatment, it was all on the NHS, no private consultations or treatment at all. I think the changes since then are all down to budgets and cost cutting.
I wish you luck for the future.
The insurance point of view is that various qualifying birth defects are paid for under the disability allowance scheme and so are not covered by insurance, but by the state funded disability insurance scheme. Such that my son's autism treatment is funded by the federal disability scheme but his general childhood sneezes and diseases are not - but visits to the doctor about his digestive difficulties are - as they are linked to his autism.
I am not sure how this translates to conditions adults - particularly those not present in CH during their childhood years, but do look into it as it may not be that your condition is not covered, it is just that your condition is not covered by health insurance. I also think their reference to it being treated before 20 is that it comes under a wider general disability insurance scheme for minors, such that if you had been born here, it would have been much more straightforward to go ahead and get it treated courtesy of this minors' scheme. (Perhaps the adult scheme does not cover it all? I do not know, I am currently only a specialist on the minors' scheme! )
Do not be offended by the use of birth deformity - it is a rough translation of the disability scheme name for minors - teeth operations would come under a defect with which the minor was born, and so you look to those regulations for the treatment payment rules.
Hi Swisspea, pm me.
Hi OP
I was told that i needed upper and lower jaw surgery to correct my extreme open bite. All I wanted to was straighten my crooked teeth out - I wasn't even aware that I had such an awful bite. But I do, my teeth only touch at the back.
Anyways, I spent over a year thinking it over. I talked to the jaw surgeon, I got a second opinion and then a third opinion on the matter. (fyi: consultations here are not for free!). In the end, I found a dentist who was able to convinced my orthodontist that I could improve my bite without surgery.
Now I am 2 months into my treatment and am more than happy to share my experience. Just PM me if you have any question.
M
Hi Swisspea, pm me as well if interested in a second opinion as well. We are in the Zug area; prosthetics is Deniza's specialty.