Canadian Wait Times?

Message

#1 Post by **hattifnattar** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:50 pm

Hello, I've been braced for about one year now and am scheduled to have my surgical molds done on the 28th of this month, however at my adjustment today, I overheard my ortho talking with a fellow patient and it turns out she has been waiting for over a year and half for her surgery date! Which means that the initial period I was told I would have to be in braces could be extended for 1.5 - 2 years longer than previously stated.

Needless to say, I am quite distressed, I didn't mind the braces with a specific time frame in mind, but now I'm not sure if I should go through with the procedure....

I have significant lower jaw assymetry and my chin deviates to the left, also my left jaw joint is displaced and my right is worn and flattened. I don't know whether or not this is from the assymetry (one joint bearing more load than the other)... Sometimes there is an annoying tension in the right side of my face and neck but no real pain as of yet.

Should I just ask my ortho that he does what he can and hope for the best? My Ortho said that he can give me straight teeth and that is probably good enough. My overbite hasn't been corrected from the braces yet, and I'm not sure my ortho plans/is able to do so...

Any Canadians have any input? Do wait times vary by surgeon depending on the hospital they operate from?

Thanks in advance for opinions, or helpful suggestions. Feeling quite a mess since my plan of action I had just come to terms with has fallen apart.

#2 Post by **~danielle~** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:21 pm

In my experience, as soon as my ortho said I was ready for surgery, he set up an appointment with my surgeon so that he could double check everything, do molds, etc. This appointment was sometime the next week(in the beginning of may I think) and my surgeon gave me a choice of surgery dates- he offered one at the end of june, one in july, or one in september. Since I'm still in school, I picked the one at the end of june so that I could be recovered in time. Sooo I only had to wait less than 2 months from the time that my ortho cleared me for surgery. I can imagine that every surgeon would be different though and location could make a difference too...? (I am in BC btw) I would definately talk to your ortho though and probably your surgeon as well (to see how available he will be) and see what they say before you start dooubting the surgery. It could just be that the patient you overheard had other circumstances that made them have to wait longer than usual. GOOD LUCK

#3 Post by **Audra** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:51 am

I'm in Calgary and my surgeon told me at my first consult in August, that once I'm ready I could wait a while to have surgery. I talked to the ortho's assistant about this at my adjustment in September and she said what the ortho likes to do is advise the surgeon ahead of time before I'm actually ready to book a date, and then we works towards that and hopefully everything goes well and I'm ready for the surgery when it is booked.

#4 Post by bb » Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:12 am

You don't have to go with the oral surgeon that you orthodontist recommends.
You can call around and ask what the wait times are for various oral surgeons or you can ask your orthodontist who else can do the surgery.
I will have no wait time after my teeth are in place.
I'm in Ontario.

#5 Post by **Audra** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:19 am

Here in Alberta, it is not the choice of surgeon that determines the wait time. It is the fact that we hardly have any hospitals anymore and wait times for all surgeries here are long.

#6 Post by bb » Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:33 am

My surgeon has an operating room in his office complex. Are you sure that there are no surgeons that might have this same type of setup?

#7 Post by **Audra** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:39 am

All of the oral surgeons here also have operating rooms in their offices. They use them for things like wisdom tooth extraction etc. They are not used for orthognathic surgery - that must be done in a hospital because you stay overnight, sometimes for several days.

#8 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:21 pm

A year and a half seems a bit extreme. Is it possible that this person you overheard has some sort of unusual situation?

I had my surgery in BC, and I had to wait a few months to get a surgery date. Then there was a cancellation and I got in a month sooner than expected, so it turned out alright.

#9 Post by **hattifnattar** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:08 pm

Hi everyone thanks so much for all the replies... I am unfortunately in Alberta. I did call one other surgeon and his admin assistant was really helpful in explaining that in my city, there are only 8 oral surgeons and they only get 8 shared days per year that they are able to perform elective surgeries... The surgeon I called had over 100 people on his waiting list... I assume it's the same for all of them.

Really unhappy... I am so torn! On the one hand I really wanted to do the best thing for myself while in braces since the deteriorating joint came as a surprise, I had just achieved a more positive mindset about the whole thing. ( That at least there's something that might help the situation, and hey, 2 years is really not so bad... )

Spending a year and a half to 2 years in braces just waiting around for surgery really really makes me want to turn tail and run though... No one mentioned the wait time to me until I overheard my ortho's converstaion with that patient and asked him about it. He said that she had been ready for surgery a year and a half prior and after seeing my face asked if I wanted to rethink it...I wish I lived in BC....

#10 Post by **kjan** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:25 pm

I'm in BC and the wait time is a few weeks. I just got my braces put on Sept. 16 and am bracing for surgery early next year. I think a lot has to with your surgeon around here, the longer you've been working the higher your seniority is. For example, I had my wisdom teeth pulled last month from a different surgeon than who is performing my oral surgery. He just started his practice up here a few years ago after working down in the states - he said if he was to perform my surgery I could have to wait 1-2 years because all the surgeons that have been up here longer get the OR time. Since my surgeon is really experienced he has pretty much booked up a lot of operating room time.
I think it really is dependent on your surgeon combined w/ the amount of patients he has waiting compared to how much OR time is available.
I really do wish you the best, I know it sucks having to be in braces a lot longer than you expected - but it will work itself out!

#11 Post by **Twinjoy** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:39 pm

I am not sure how it works in Canada but I know in the states you can go to other cities or states to have their surgery done. Is there any way your orthodontist could refer you to another province/city/state (not sure what they might call them in Canada) so you could have no wait or less wait time?

#12 Post by **Audra** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:39 am

I think a year and a half wait is ridiculous. I'm getting on the phone on Monday to my surgeons office to get the whole scoop. If I have to then pick another surgeon in the city, I will. Of course I'll report back what I learn.

We cannot go outside our provice. Our health care is not national, it is provincial - i.e. I am under Alberta Health Care, not Canada Health Care.

#13 Post by bb » Sat Oct 18, 2008 10:56 am

If you live close enough to a border then you might consider another province.
You're health insurance is good across the country. In some cases you may have to pay up front and then get reimbursed.

#14 Post by **hattifnattar** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 4:22 pm

I am thinking about flying to Vancouver BC to have this done... but it's just going to take some time researching the proper protocol for going outside of my health care region. All in all, I already know that by doing that it will cost a lot more, another consult fee, air fare etc. If it's not feasible to do that (because Alberta Health does not approve it as medically necessary, and will not reimburse it if done in another province.) then I guess I will have to decide if I can wait or if I should just give up.

I turned 24 and people mistake me as a 16-17 year old all the time, so as much as I know I shouldn't pay attention to the perceptions of others, I think that people don't take me as seriously at my job, or when I am newly introduced to clients. So the wait, I feel affects my self esteem negatively, even if it is part and parcel of doing something positive for myself. For some people, with more positive esteem maybe this wait time is reasonable, but not for me.

(even though I can totally see myself waiting then jsut whining away a year and a half shaking my fist at the health superboard.)

In about a week or two, I will probably return to the boards and ask for requests for surgeons in Vancity. (Got a friend's place where I can crash, that's why Vancouver.)

*Research Notes: I looked on the Alberta Health and Wellness Website and they say that in some instances you can travel outside of your province for Orthognathic Maxillofacial Surgery and claim back the amount with Alberta Health Care but only if the surgery is approved as medically necessary.

They did not leave their guidelines as to what constitutes medically necessary (but in Alberta it would not suprise me if their version of medical necessity was "jaw unhinged will not close") so I will most likely have to confer with my surgeon, before I know for sure. BUT because I am such a worry wart who NEEDS progress I will probably be putting in a call to AHC monday morning on my break.

Also found out there are A LOT of procedures that are NOT approved for transer of care to another province so this just may be my lucky break!

#15 Post by **hattifnattar** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 4:29 pm

Audra wrote:I think a year and a half wait is ridiculous. I'm getting on the phone on Monday to my surgeons office to get the whole scoop. If I have to then pick another surgeon in the city, I will. Of course I'll report back what I learn.

We cannot go outside our provice. Our health care is not national, it is provincial - i.e. I am under Alberta Health Care, not Canada Health Care.

Hopefully your wait times are a bit shorter, if your ortho and surgeon arranged things better maybe your wait time will be reduced from that as well. But because we no longer have seperate health regions unless Calgary has a surplus of jaw surgeons and OR's I have a feeling you might be waiting for some time too. I am in Edmonton.

P.S If your wait times are indeed shorter please don't do the Calgary is greater than Edmonton parade dance.

I would be devastated, because then I'd have to join you.