Maxillofacial Surgery
Donation protected
My name is Kevin and I am from Reidsville, NC. I am in the need of maxillofacial surgery to correct misalignments in my upper and lower jaws. This is not a simple or quick process and may take up to two years for everything to be corrected.
I have had this problem since I was very young, less than two years old. The problem kept getting worse and the doctors said I had to wait until I was done growing to have the surgery I needed. They did not inform us that once I was an adult this surgery is almost always considered to be a cosmedic and not covered by most insurance plans.
I want to emphasize that this is not for cosmetic purposes. I would not put myself through this kind of pain and suffering for looks. The cosmetic aspect of it is why I have put this off for so long. Currently, this condition is affecting my breathing, my chewing capacity, and causing my joints in my jaw to wear down prematurely.
Currently I have less than 20% of my teeth touching when I bite down. My two jaws not only don’t line up front and back, they are not centered on each other either. Eating is hard as my teeth don’t fit together properly. I avoid eating certain foods in public (Ribs, Apples, and Corn on the Cobb) because I can’t bite into them. On top of that, I have to get the food to the back of my mouth so I can chew it on only a portion of my back teeth. My chewing capacity is significantly reduced, and it causes dietary issues because I am not always able to chew the food well enough to digest it correctly.
This situation has made me extremely self-conscious about my appearance. I avoid having my picture taken, especially from the side, because of how my face looks. As someone close to me pointed out, I always look like I have a mouthful of tobacco. It is often pointed out to me by a lot of people and has been a laughing point for some. It has affected my job as I do have a speech impediment and makes me more self-conscious around strangers in a professional setting.
Because of the massive under bite that I have, my teeth have rotated and angled trying to adapt to my current situation. Before I can have the surgery, I will need to have braces otherwise it will be impossible to work out where the jaws should be and the teeth won’t fit correctly. Also, the braces will be used to wire my two jaws together to keep my jaws aligned after the surgery.
After the teeth are straightened with braces, they will make a cast of my teeth and decide the best way to correct my bite. They will move the upper jaw by breaking and detaching it from the base of the skull, and then reposition it. The lower jaw will be cut at the sides of the jaw using a surgical saw, slid backwards until it is in the correct position. It will then be fixed together with titanium plates and screws.
The first few weeks after the surgery, the diet will be nutrient shakes through a straw. After a few weeks I will be able to eat soft foods blended. Slowly I will be allowed to eat soft foods, then later solids. The recovering can be up to six weeks. After the recovery process, the jaws are then unwired from each other and the braces will stay on for up to another six months for fine tuning teeth alignment.
The surgery itself is can cost in the range of 30K-50K. This does not include the braces, medications, doctors’ visits or the other items that run up the costs. I will be updating these costs as I go through this process.
This has been a long road as there are risks that I may lose feeling in my face, chin or lips. I am at a point in my life where I have to get this surgery or it will cause a lot of medical problems later. This is a lot for me to take in.
Unfortunately, they do not have a payment plan for this surgery. I have to have the funding to back this up or I will not be able to get the surgery that I need. I have come to the realization that this situation requires me asking for help from friends, family, and the kindness of strangers.
Thank you for your time, consideration, and contributions.
-Kevin
I have had this problem since I was very young, less than two years old. The problem kept getting worse and the doctors said I had to wait until I was done growing to have the surgery I needed. They did not inform us that once I was an adult this surgery is almost always considered to be a cosmedic and not covered by most insurance plans.
I want to emphasize that this is not for cosmetic purposes. I would not put myself through this kind of pain and suffering for looks. The cosmetic aspect of it is why I have put this off for so long. Currently, this condition is affecting my breathing, my chewing capacity, and causing my joints in my jaw to wear down prematurely.
Currently I have less than 20% of my teeth touching when I bite down. My two jaws not only don’t line up front and back, they are not centered on each other either. Eating is hard as my teeth don’t fit together properly. I avoid eating certain foods in public (Ribs, Apples, and Corn on the Cobb) because I can’t bite into them. On top of that, I have to get the food to the back of my mouth so I can chew it on only a portion of my back teeth. My chewing capacity is significantly reduced, and it causes dietary issues because I am not always able to chew the food well enough to digest it correctly.
This situation has made me extremely self-conscious about my appearance. I avoid having my picture taken, especially from the side, because of how my face looks. As someone close to me pointed out, I always look like I have a mouthful of tobacco. It is often pointed out to me by a lot of people and has been a laughing point for some. It has affected my job as I do have a speech impediment and makes me more self-conscious around strangers in a professional setting.
Because of the massive under bite that I have, my teeth have rotated and angled trying to adapt to my current situation. Before I can have the surgery, I will need to have braces otherwise it will be impossible to work out where the jaws should be and the teeth won’t fit correctly. Also, the braces will be used to wire my two jaws together to keep my jaws aligned after the surgery.
After the teeth are straightened with braces, they will make a cast of my teeth and decide the best way to correct my bite. They will move the upper jaw by breaking and detaching it from the base of the skull, and then reposition it. The lower jaw will be cut at the sides of the jaw using a surgical saw, slid backwards until it is in the correct position. It will then be fixed together with titanium plates and screws.
The first few weeks after the surgery, the diet will be nutrient shakes through a straw. After a few weeks I will be able to eat soft foods blended. Slowly I will be allowed to eat soft foods, then later solids. The recovering can be up to six weeks. After the recovery process, the jaws are then unwired from each other and the braces will stay on for up to another six months for fine tuning teeth alignment.
The surgery itself is can cost in the range of 30K-50K. This does not include the braces, medications, doctors’ visits or the other items that run up the costs. I will be updating these costs as I go through this process.
This has been a long road as there are risks that I may lose feeling in my face, chin or lips. I am at a point in my life where I have to get this surgery or it will cause a lot of medical problems later. This is a lot for me to take in.
Unfortunately, they do not have a payment plan for this surgery. I have to have the funding to back this up or I will not be able to get the surgery that I need. I have come to the realization that this situation requires me asking for help from friends, family, and the kindness of strangers.
Thank you for your time, consideration, and contributions.
-Kevin
Organizer
Kevin P. Barker
Organizer
Reidsville, NC
