u/Diligent-Chapter-585

To start off, I'm from Massachusetts.

I've been trying to get an appointment to see an oral surgeon for the past month and even just making the appointment feels insurmountable. I called the oral surgeon's office, directly, and they said I needed a referral. Fine. I called my PCP to make a request. It was denied a couple days later. When I asked "why," they explained that, according to my insurance, I didn't need a referral to see an oral surgeon. I could just call them. I did. The oral surgeon's office buckled down and said I needed a referral. They told me what information to send over, plus the oral surgeon's email address. I called my PCP back. They explained that what the oral surgeon's office was describing sounded like an order. The PCP's office reassured me they'd send the order over and either they would call me back or the oral surgeon's office would call back once the order went through. I waited a few days but didn't hear back from anyone. I called my PCP's office again and explained my situation. They said they had a lot of their plate, the last few days, and they'd send out the order.

I'm internally screaming. I just want a consultation. That's it. It shouldn't have to be this complicated. I don't mind if I need to wait to see him, but I need that appointment date. I'm thinking about contacting another PCP's office to see if it's any easier working with them. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what to do. Has anyone else had trouble just seeing an oral surgeon? Does anyone know any tricks to expediting this whole process?

I have a recessed jaw. I always have.

Background: At age 11, I was diagnosed with an overbite. To fix this, I was put in braces. I also had to wear headgear at night. Then, at the later stages, I wore elastics. My orthodontist tragically died in an accident within the first three months of my treatment his assistant took over for the rest of the time. I wore braces between 2000-2003. When I was done, the assistant gave me a retainer to wear at night. She said I'd likely have to wear it until my 30s. I wore it faithfully until the end of high school. Before I left for college, she "revised" the retainer and tightened it to a point where I could no longer sleep due to the pain. At that point, my frustration levels hit the ceiling and I threw it in the trash.

Today, I have TMJ, sleep apnea, an open bite, and I have to really think to breathe out my nose. I've developed tori from the TMJ and my tongue (which had little space, to begin with) is losing its home. I don't like taking pictures, anymore, because all I can see is the pain reflecting back at me. I feel ugly. To this day, I wonder why palatal expansion was never part of my initial treatment plan. I also wonder how different things could have been if my orthodontist was still around, God rest his soul.

Between September, 2025 and March, 2026, I was seeing a neuromuscular dentist. He promised a treatment plan but insisted he wanted my teeth healthy, first. I got a deep clean, took a bunch of scans of my teeth, neck, and nasal passages, got a sleep study done, and wore an orthotic to heal my joints. I spent thousands of dollars because most of these services either weren't covered by my dental insurance or was only covered by a couple bucks. In March, he gave me his treatment plan which totaled at $66,000. It included a year of palatal expansion, two years of braces, PT to strengthen my tongue, a laser tongue-tie removal, revision on my front four teeth, and a mandibular advancement devise. Putting in the time to correct my jaw is no problem for me, but I can't just put down $66,000, like that. I feel like I was scammed. I'm trying to make a silver lining out of this in the sense that I have a ton of data, now, but I still feel scammed.

Right now, I'm trying to build a case for medical necessity. I got evaluated by a TMJ specialist who then referred me to an orofacial pain specialist who works at the same practice. When I called to make an appointment, the receptionist said I had to register with them (I'd visited them a few times before, so I don't know how that happened). I called their registration line and, once that was done, called back the orofacial pain specialist's office with a reference number. The receptionist said I was registered but that the referral didn't come through yet. They said it'd take a few days but that they'd call when it was received. It's been five days, now, and I still haven't heard from them.

No one else around me has gotten jaw surgery, so I have no reference on where to start and I'm tired of not knowing if I'm going in the right direction. What did you do to fix your jaw? How much did your insurance cover? Did you have to pay $66,000 for the cure?