The waiting game.

After traveling to Austin to see an orthodontic specialist in invisalign/braces for jaw surgery, I have decided to go ahead and see the oral surgeon for a consult. He will first do a prescan and send my information over to my insurance (which he is in my network so this is awesome). I would love to start the process ASAP but traveling to Austin for this is a pain. My friend is moving there and will surely offer a place for me to stay to get cheap rates for flights.

The ortho said full treatment time is usually at most 18 months, with 6 months of prep even before the braces come on (if I remember correctly)

If all goes well in May, I hope to hear back from insurance by the summer and start the process by fall. Does anyone passing by know if you can go on short term disability if insurance says its medically necessary? 

I plan on being out from work for 2-3 weeks to recover. Thankfully my current job doesn't require extensive telephone usage, so I really can work semi remotely. 

I almost fell asleep at the wheel this morning...and I thought I had great sleep the other night. My sleep apnea is catching up to me finally. It's extremely scary to drive 1 hr to work drowsy. 

Back to the search for an orthodontist/oral surgeon...

I've been in a hiatus with this frustrating journey. I will say that research certainly has helped tremendously. I know exactly what my problem is and how to fix it.

There are options to "camouflage" the gummy smile even though I've already tried botox and lip repositioning surgery. However, I know this will not fix the mouth breathing concerns/TMJ/sleep apnea/grinding teeth. At the end of the day I want to be happy and not "camouflage" my problems just for a slightly better appearance. Knowing orthognathic surgery is a huge risk has put my journey on hold for awhile.

I've picked back up and have scheduled another appointment with an orthodontist specialist in Austin, Texas. He specializes in using Invisalign in the front and traditional braces posterior with less treatment time which is what I am looking for. I cannot be in braces with my profession for many months sometimes years.

He then will refer me to an oral surgeon who I hope has experience in convincing insurance companies to cover the surgery. The hardest part so far has been knowing I want the surgery but not having the time or money to spend with a bunch of consultations. I relied heavily on the research online for this orthodontist.

I see him in about 2 weeks and I pray that God has a plan to really begin this journey to fixing my problems.

Here are some more pictures...

 Side Profile w/ Receding Chin when closing mouth

My bite..my lips do not touch and you can see the lines still 

My lip closed posture my chin bunches up and is strained