Pre-op pics

Ok, so I decided to post some pictures of what my mouth looks like right now.  I've spent some time looking for other people who have the same issue as me on the internet, but I can't find anyone yet.  I have a severe cant, recessed jaw, and some other thing that the oral surgeon said was wrong.  I asked my sister to take some pics for me, she almost bust a gut she was so excited. (I hate my picture being taken)  So here they are...

 As you can see, my whole face is not centered, my teeth are slanted.

Here you can see my recessed chin, and my upper jaw is slightly back, too.

Up close of my teeth almost closed.   You can't really tell from this pic, but the right side doesn't close all the way.

Anyway, that's all the photodocumentation I can handle for now.  I have a surgery date, January 26.  I'll keep you posted. :)

Miracle!

Miracle upon miracles, my insurance finally approved me!!
Thursday night I got home late from a school function and checked my mail. In it was the standard letter from my insurance. I thought, here we go, another rejection letter. So I took my time, came in the house, settled down, and finally opened it. I started reading and about halfway down it said that based on the review of the evidence, they decided to approve my surgery. I was so shocked and afraid that I had read it wrong, that I reread it several times to make sure. Turns out, the letter that my dentist sent was the thing that pushed them to finally agree. According to the letter from the insurance they had my mouth opening at 35 mm, but my dentist said 29, which is less than the 30 required. I measured my mouth several times on my own to make sure, and yes, its 29. I couldn't believe that someone else had made such a huge error! Anyway, I'm just so relieved and excited that I can finally move on with my life. I emailed the oral surgeon and they said to call the patient rep lady on Monday to schedule my surgery. I am hoping I can have it in January when I'm tracked out. That way I only have to miss a week of school.

Running in place

So, it's been a while since I posted and my sister asks me this morning if I'm going to post about the latest news. I suppose I've lost energy for dealing with this whole thing. Which is exactly what the insurance company wants.
I went to the orthodontist Tuesday, we're down to just maintenance at this point. I'm in the chair waiting to be looked at and I stare at the computer screen that has my information on it. At the top it says that I am 10 months over in the projected completion date. That means I've been wearing braces for over 2 years now, when it originally was supposed to be 15 months. So depressing. No end in sight.
Anyway, the week before last, I went to the dentist for my regular checkup. We got to talking about this waiting for my surgery business. I told him that I had a 4th denial letter, that the insurance board said that it wasn't medically necessary. Well, my dentist got really mad. He told me that anyone who looked at me would see it was medically necessary (not sure if that's comforting or insulting, ha ha!). He was really angry and told me that he intended to write a very strongly worded letter to the insurance people himself. He actually talked to me for about 15 minutes about this, which is more than most of my doctors have given me lately. He assured me that he knew how to get results and that he hasn't failed yet. So I gave him the information. Well, this week he sent me a copy of the letter he sent out, and he wasn't kidding when he said he'd plead my case. I couldn't believe how bold he was. He argued with every point in the insurance denial and ended it with a statement basically saying that my condition is only going to worsen without surgery and at that point I might be seeking legal counsel.
Now, I feel two ways about this letter. Of course, I feel like its the best thing I've seen yet. But at the same time, I'm scared its gonna piss of the insurance company and they'll dig their heels in even deeper.
Meanwhile, I sit in limbo. And in pain. My orthodontist now is preparing me for in case I don't get surgery. He is having me wear bands on one side to help close the gap. The last time he did that, it hurt so much and my jaw started acting like it was gonna lock up on me.
I don't know what to think anymore about all this mess, but I would like to have some clue when its all going to end. If I knew I was going to get the surgery for sure, I could hang in there. But if the insurance company is going to flat out deny me forever and never change their minds, then I want to know so I can move on with my life. This whole thing is absurd to me.

Disappointment

Well, after a month and a half of waiting, I finally received a letter from my insurance informing me that I am still denied due to "not medically necessary" and that it is now going before the insurance board for appeals. I am so frustrated at this point. I wish these people would come to me personally and ask me what its like to live with my mouth. Just the other day I was yawning and my jaw cracked and crunched like the sound chicken makes when you pull a chicken wing apart. I was trying to eat a bagel recently and had to pull off bits of bread to eat it. My teeth still don't touch on one side even after a month of rubber bands. And I'm constantly having to be careful not to bite my cheeks. Why am I paying hundreds of dollars each year, and thousands over the years for insurance that won't help me out?

Insurance

Insurance companies are a joy to work with! I received my second denial letter a couple of weeks ago. Now I had to write a letter pleading my case, get more specific doctor records, and resubmit the whole thing again. If it gets denied again, it goes to the insurance board. It's so frustrating to me that they don't see with all the records that have already been sent that this is a medical necessity. I can't even think about it right now, I'm so over it. But I'm not giving up, that's what they want me to do.
Meanwhile, school started again, after a 4 day break between school years. I have been working 12 hour days for about 2 weeks straight now and I think I'm almost burnt out, ha ha! I'm back in second grade, which is what I have wanted. But I do miss my old kindergarten team, and I do miss the simplicity of kindergarten. So much has changed in second grade in the last 4 years. I'm having to learn so many new things. And, we found out 2 days before school ended that we lost 5 teacher assistant positions, so second grade is without assistants. All I can say is, I am worn out and am having to strategically plan when to pee. Oh well, c'est la vie!
Did I mention track out is in 2 weeks? Yay!!!!

Surgery

Well, I am preparing to have jaw surgery in July and even though I have a date for the surgery and appointments are going as planned, I still haven't been approved by insurance. They seem to think it is not medically necessary. I wish I could talk to them in person and tell them the pain and difficulties I am having. I can't close my teeth properly, I can't open my mouth very wide. My teeth don't touch on the left. My jaw gets sore easily and is crunchy in the joints.
Anyway, I had an appointment last Thursday with my oral surgeon. They explained all the ins and outs of the surgery and post op things I'll have to deal with. They also took e-rays and did measurements, and took pictures. Apparently my cant is 3mm off. And I can only open my mouth 30 mm wide, whereas the average is 40 mm. That explains a lot, lol! I can hardly keep my mouth open for dental and orthodontic visits, its basically torture. Another cool, but not so cool thing is I can't eat anything harder than apple sauce for 6-8 weeks. Cool cause I might loose weight. But the uncool part is I can't loose too much weight or I'll have to get a feeding tube. No fair!
The surgery will entail them cutting my upper jaw completely away from my skull and cutting off some bone that is on the right side and adding it to the left side, then putting it all back together, a bit forward, and holding it in place with titanium plates and screws. And supposedly I won't be able to feel any of the plates and screws post op. Then they will cut my bottom jaw sideways and slide it forward to meet my upper teeth and hold it together with titanium plates and screws. They will do all of this by going up in the gums as far up as you can go and as far down as you can go so you won't see scars. The whole thing supposedly takes 3 hours. I will spend 1-2 nights in the hospital then get to go home to recover. My whole face will be numb for about 4 weeks, then I will start to get feeling back slowly over time. It could take up to a year to fully get feeling back.
It's too early for me to be nervous, I'm more excited than anything, that I may finally have some relief. Hopefully the insurance will approve on this resubmission.

Track out

Today was my last day of school until January 26. I really needed a vacation. Of course, I have lots planned to do over my break. I'm traveling to Pittsburgh to visit friends, going to Haiti in January, cleaning my house, and pricing a new kitchen floor. Lots to do, but I don't mind because I don't have to think about work for a while!