My dreaded gap has finally closed!

I went for my regular adjustment appointment on Monday and as usual I had my power chains replaced.  Now I love it when I get my power chains replaced, mostly because they are fresh and white and everything looks a lot nicer.  Then, this morning when I woke (only two days later) I noticed that the gap in between my front teeth has completely closed.  The fresh power chains had done their job to pull that remaining 0.25mm gap together!

That's a total of 478 days (or 1 year, 3 months and 22 days) from when I stopped expanding on April 8th 2013 to the gap being finally closed.  Phew!  Of course this is still not the end - I still have my big surgery to go, but it's a milestone nonetheless.

Here's a photo of my now gapless smile.

I've finished paying for my braces!

This was a nice surprise for the middle of the week!  I logged on to my internet banking today to check my credit card and wondered why my orthodontic payment had not been debited this month.  After checking my treatment plan I realised that I actually made my final payment last month.  Of course the payments I have made cover my whole treatment plan so I will continue to be seen - it just means that I no longer have the expense each month.

Time for a happy dance!

How much will it all cost?

When I started enquiring about 'fixing' my jaw I first did a lot of research on pricing.  While the costs have worked out to a little more than I originally expected (well OK around 40% more), I still had a fair idea of what I was letting myself in for.

So for those of you out there who are looking into SARME/SARPE, orthodontics and bi-max surgery - here is the cost for each stage along with a breakdown of what fees make up the total.  All prices are in Australian dollars before any rebates from my private health fund or Medicare.

Stage 1 SARME = $6,250

Surgical fee = $3,000

Teeth removed x 5 = $550 (total)

Day surgery fees = $1,800

Anaesthetist fees = $900

Stage 2 Orthodontics = $10,800

Braces, adjustments and all appointment fees = $10,800 ($3750 initial deposit then $470 per month for 15 months).

While the orthodontics sound expensive this also includes consultations for two years after orthodontic work is completed.

Stage 3 Bi-maxillary (double jaw) surgery = $23,000 (approx.)

Pre-op surgical appointment = $1,500 (approx)
Surgical fees = $17,000

Hospital and anaesthetist fees including 1 night high dependency unit and five night stay total = $4,000 (approx.)

Other fees for x-rays, consults, veneers, cleaning and general dental = $3,000 (approx.)

Grand total for entire treatment = $40,000 (before any rebates)

Expensive?  Well yes it is - but remember these fees are before any health fund or Medicare rebates.  I can expect to receive about $8,000 in total from these rebates.  Then there are the tax refunds on top of that - the Australian government will give 20% back on all medical expenses over $2,200 in any tax year (after rebates from health funds and Medicare).  The cost of these procedures will be spread over two years, but I can still expect to receive another $5,000 or so back, which brings the grand total out of pocket to around $27,000 which is much more manageable.

If you are still reading but unsure of the prices I think its a matter of putting things into perspective.  Some people would not think twice about spending this much money on a brand new car.  Some people will easily spend $10K on an overseas holiday.  This is something that will last me for the rest of my life, so I definitely think it is a wise investment.

Well that's all for now - it's late here in Sydney and time for bed.  If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment.