Hi,
I have been in braces for about 5 months and am planning on having jaw surgery in the coming months to fix a Class 3 underbite. My orthodontist referred me to Dr. Obeid who is in-network with my insurance. I have met with Dr. Obeid and his team three times and they all seem very knowledgeable about these type of procedures (they perform ~125-150 per year and Dr. Obeid told me he has performed thousands in total).
After further consideration, I decided to also seek the opinion of Dr. Posnick because of his stellar reputation on these forums and others. After speaking with Dr. Posnick, I am considering switching to have him perform my surgery instead of Dr. Obeid. It seems like he puts a stronger emphasis on research, data, and new knowledge in regard to these procedures than Dr. Obeid's team.
One thing holding me back is that Dr. Posnick is out-of-network. His financial manager estimated that I'd be paying $15k out of pocket for the procedure which I can afford, but is not ideal.
What are people's thoughts on these two surgeons and making a decision like this?
Thanks!
Dr. Posnick or Dr. Obeid?
Moderator: bbsadmin
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kplatt2010
- Posts: 260
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Re: Dr. Posnick or Dr. Obeid?
Hey There- I looked for reviews on Dr. Obeid and found some on Medstar health( https://www.medstarhealth.org/doctor/dr ... obeid-dds/). Nothing really mentioning MMA reviews though. Dr. Posnik has a bad one on this site https://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Jeffr ... ck/reviews). Consumer Checkbook for DC area does not list either as a top doc. Washingtonian mentions Dr. Posnick as a top oral surgeon who deals with complex cases. However; I know the Washingtonian list is not always accurate. I wonder if Dr. Obeid does more cases being he's at a teaching hospital? You'll need to consider with both if they allow the residents to do the actual grunt work. You want someone who does a lot of cases with a low complication rate.
Of note; I just looked up what my oral surgeon charged my insurance and it was $55,326.00. I went to NYC and would totally NOT recommend him. In regards to cost; because my surgeon is a BCBS preferred provider, they knocked the price tag down to $2,448.00; of which I paid $335. I have BCBS federal which states you pay out-of pocket for a non-provider 35% AND also one must pay the difference between the plan allowance and the billed amount. That's a much bigger chunk of change than the office manager is quoting you if you have BCBS federal. Perhaps though you have a more robust insurance plan...
If I was going to shell out that kind of money I would go to Gunson. The added bonus is you would get to visit Ca.
Of note; I just looked up what my oral surgeon charged my insurance and it was $55,326.00. I went to NYC and would totally NOT recommend him. In regards to cost; because my surgeon is a BCBS preferred provider, they knocked the price tag down to $2,448.00; of which I paid $335. I have BCBS federal which states you pay out-of pocket for a non-provider 35% AND also one must pay the difference between the plan allowance and the billed amount. That's a much bigger chunk of change than the office manager is quoting you if you have BCBS federal. Perhaps though you have a more robust insurance plan...
If I was going to shell out that kind of money I would go to Gunson. The added bonus is you would get to visit Ca.
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academiannut
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Tue May 07, 2019 10:40 am
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Re: Dr. Posnick or Dr. Obeid?
Not sure which way you went. I had my surgery with Dr. Posnick two weeks ago. He is retiring very soon, so it won't be a question for anyone past this July, 2019. I'm very confident I'm going to like the outcome. He's a great surgeon.
I went out-of-network because Dr. Posnick was the first person I talked to who seemed to understand my complaint, how to fix it, and how to make sure it was covered by insurance.
I tried a few times to find orthognathic surgeons in-network, but the times I found someone to talk to, they weren't interested. My bite was good but my jaws were so much smaller than normal that it was covered by insurance to fix them. However, none of the orthodontists or orthognathic surgeons in-network I talked to seemed to know this. They all looked at my bite, saw it was good, and said there was nothing to be done. I talked to someone about my jaws every few years since I was 15 and no one seemed to think I had a reason for complaint since my teeth were straight. Never mind that you couldn't see them because my lips covered 80% of my top teeth when I smiled!
Since Posnick was out of network, that still meant a LOT out of pocket. It's still not settled how much, but I am estimating my share will end up being about 15k.
If I'd found someone in-network who seemed to understand my complaint and how to fix it, I would have gone with them. I feel good about having gone with Posnick because he seemed especially attuned to the aesthetic issues with my face type, and I've seen other people with similar faces who had OK surgery outcomes, but not as good as Posnicks. Figured I'm just going to do this once, should get it done right.
But I'm still mad that so many in-network people looked solely at my bite and ignored the obvious fact that my jaws were extremely undergrown, I didn't have the verbiage to explain the problem back then, but they were the experts and should have known!
I went out-of-network because Dr. Posnick was the first person I talked to who seemed to understand my complaint, how to fix it, and how to make sure it was covered by insurance.
I tried a few times to find orthognathic surgeons in-network, but the times I found someone to talk to, they weren't interested. My bite was good but my jaws were so much smaller than normal that it was covered by insurance to fix them. However, none of the orthodontists or orthognathic surgeons in-network I talked to seemed to know this. They all looked at my bite, saw it was good, and said there was nothing to be done. I talked to someone about my jaws every few years since I was 15 and no one seemed to think I had a reason for complaint since my teeth were straight. Never mind that you couldn't see them because my lips covered 80% of my top teeth when I smiled!
Since Posnick was out of network, that still meant a LOT out of pocket. It's still not settled how much, but I am estimating my share will end up being about 15k.
If I'd found someone in-network who seemed to understand my complaint and how to fix it, I would have gone with them. I feel good about having gone with Posnick because he seemed especially attuned to the aesthetic issues with my face type, and I've seen other people with similar faces who had OK surgery outcomes, but not as good as Posnicks. Figured I'm just going to do this once, should get it done right.
But I'm still mad that so many in-network people looked solely at my bite and ignored the obvious fact that my jaws were extremely undergrown, I didn't have the verbiage to explain the problem back then, but they were the experts and should have known!