Jaw Surgery Cost
The cost of corrective jaw surgery will vary depending on your location, oral/maxillofacial surgeon, hospital, insurance plan, government.
Location
If you are from a Western developed country, I am pretty confident you should be able to get your jaw surgery free or at a heavily subsidised rate by your government as long as you get it done at a government hospital.
Oral/Maxillofacial Surgeon
Some surgeons work for government hospitals while others work in their own private practice. The private surgeons are going to cost more than a government surgeon.
Hospital
Like the surgeons, government hospitals tend to cost more than private hospitals.
Insurance Plan
Some insurance plans do cover the cost of jaw surgery and/or the hospital fees. Check with a trusted insurance agent to find out whether there are any insurance plans that you could apply for.
Government
Let’s hope your government will offer a subsidy for your jaw surgery. If someone at the hospital tells you it does not exist, do not take no for an answer and do your own research.
One of the things that I messed up was taking the advice of a receptionist and private surgeon about getting a government subsidy of my jaw surgery.
In the case of the receptionist, I believe she had no idea and simply said no to brush me aside. The private surgeon probably wanted me to pay him lots of money so he lied to me about the government not giving out subsidies for people like me.
My Jaw Surgery Cost Me Nothing
Yes, I paid nothing for my jaw surgery in Singapore because my government subsidised the jaw surgery cost and my insurance covered a portion of it along with my medical savings.
Please note that I am a Singapore citizen and I had my jaw surgery at government hospital in Singapore. I fit the criteria for receiving a government subsidy because my jaws were misaligned due to a growth defect of my jaw bones. In other words, my jaws simply grew out of alignment by default and I never had any accident to cause the jaw deformity.
19 Comments On “Jaw Surgery Cost”
On 10th August 2011 9:50 PM,
Sihui said:
Hi vince!
haha sorry I just left a comment elsewhere because I hadn’t read this post then!
So comforting to know that you’re a singapore citizen as well cause I have been researching on this issue and realised that many are from overseas and I felt quite useless because I understand that there are discrepancies in how each government deals with such cases!
I’m sorry to bother you but would you mind telling me which government hospital did you go to for this?
&Regarding the last paragraph about the government subsidy, do you mean that if you did not have any accident prior to the deformity, there will be a higher chance of receiving a subsidy?
Really sorry to ask so many questions at one shot! Hope you would reply me!
Thank you! (:
On 12th August 2011 4:31 PM,
Fahmi said:
Hi Vince!
I just wanted to enquire about the surgery costs. I currently have medical insurance with Aviva. Can u please advise me on the steps in making a claim? I am really clueless about the proceedings. My surgery is in January. Would really-really appreciate it. Thanks.
Best Regards,
Fahmi
On 13th August 2011 1:53 AM,
Vince said:
Hi Fahmi,
The hospital will process the claim for you.
Go and consult a staff nurse and she should be able to print out an invoice for you that indicates the surgery deposit you should pay on the day of your admission.
On the day of your admission, the receptionist will help you process your insurance claims. If you want to check before the jaw surgery date, ask your staff nurse and she should be able to point you in the right direction.
Sincerely,
Vince
On 13th August 2011 1:54 AM,
Vince said:
I went to NUH but you can go to most government hospitals to get this jaw surgery done.
I believe that as long as your jaw problems are caused by a genetic defect or growth defect, you will get a government grant for your jaw surgery in Singapore.
On 15th August 2011 5:34 PM,
Jin said:
Hi Vince,
I am also looking for jaw corrective surgery costs, as I have a genetically misaligned and protruding lower jaw (one side’s bone grew more than the other.) Am pleasantly surprised to find the SG gov will subsidise. finding it hard to believe, though. So, I simply have to go to a Government restructured hospital (NUH, TTSH, Alexandra, etc) to see the dentist there? And experience the usual wait of months for the surgery, but it’ll be fully claimable? Will the claim be from Medisave (which is really our money), from our own insurance, or really a 100% gov subsidy? I have accidental (with hospitalisation) insurance under AIA. Please share your experience. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Jin
On 18th August 2011 10:03 AM,
Vince said:
Yes, you need to consult a government oral/maxillofacial surgeon in Singapore. NUH, Alexandra, TTSH, KTPH will do. Simply call them to make a direct appointment without going to any Polyclinic or other third party clinics.
Once you meet them, you will have to get braces from an orthodontist. They usually have orthodontists at their hospital and this process may take 6 months to a year or more before your jaw surgery. I wish I could have simply went for the jaw surgery but the surgeons needs your teeth to be in a certain place before the surgery.
For my case, my lower teeth had to pushed out and realigned to a certain position and angle to compensate for the final position of my lower jaw when it was moved backwards. My protruding lower jaw got worse during this period and that is something that you need to put up with for a while.
The wait for the surgery is not long because your surgeon will coordinate with your orthodontist to book a surgery date shortly after your teeth are ready.
Most of the surgery fees and hospital fees will be covered by the government. You will have to pay a small amount for the hospital fees but that can be offset by your insurance plan. You need an insurance plan that will pay your hospital fees. You need to check with your insurance agent about that.
Please note that the cost of your braces, x-rays, consultations, etc will not be free before and after the surgery (out patient). Everything done during the hospital stay (in patient) after your jaw surgery will be covered. To save money, get the metal braces. If you are concerned about looks, then get metal braces for the lower teeth and ceramic braces for the upper teeth.
You can read about other Singaporeans’ experience with jaw surgery in Singapore at:
http://flowerpod.com.sg/forums/Orthognathic-Surgery-t21763.html&pid=3099501&st=2790#entry3099501
If not for this forum topic, I would not have known I could get jaw surgery for free.
On 18th August 2011 5:56 PM,
Jin said:
Thank you for such a quick reply, and for your advice. I’ll try to book a doctor’s appointment at a gov hospital soon.
Cheers,
Jin
On 11th September 2011 4:34 PM,
Zahid said:
I am an American and stay in Malaysia – I need a lower jaw surgery (am useing bracelets over two years) this jaw problem is by birth and getting worse each day .
Pl do advise how can I get USA Government Hospital help to cover the Cost?
Thank you
On 12th September 2011 12:52 PM,
Vince said:
I really do not know how to get your surgery subsidised in your location. Sorry, I can’t help you with that.
On 6th October 2011 7:43 PM,
May said:
may I know which insurance company and policy you took? thanks!
On 26th November 2011 4:58 PM,
Sihui said:
Hi Vince!
Just a few questions which I would like to enquire after reading the above comments left by others (:
I see that you said that we can book appointment directly from a government hospital without going through a polyclinic. So we don’t have to go to a polyclinic to get a referral letter? Will that affect anything?
Also, must we do our braces at the government hospital? Or is it okay if I have braces at another clinic and just the jaw surgery at the hospital?
Hope to hear from you. Thanks (:
On 27th November 2011 4:00 PM,
Vince said:
There is no need to go to a Polyclinic because it is a waste of time and money. You will get subsidised rates for your jaw surgery with or without a Polyclinic referral.
You can have your braces at any place but it is more convenient for you to do it at the same government hospital so that you can consult your doctors at the same place.
On 27th November 2011 4:57 PM,
Sihui said:
Haha I still need to go down to polyclinic once for referral for my wisdom tooth extraction. So I was thinking if I need to, I can take on the same day! But thanks for your information, its so clear! Hope everything goes well!
On 2nd December 2011 10:44 PM,
jesse said:
Hi Vince,
just wondering, how much did u paid for the braces at NUH and the surgery if its not being subsidised? any doc in particular to look for? I went to a private surgeon and was quoted SGD$12 k to 14 k for surgery at mount Elizabeth and $3800 for the braces. ..
On 3rd December 2011 12:05 PM,
Vince said:
I paid nothing for my double jaw surgery because it was subsidised and my NTUC Incomeshield insurance paid for whatever the subsidy did not cover.
The braces must have cost about $3000 ++.
On 3rd December 2011 2:37 PM,
jesse said:
Hi Vince,
thanks for your reply. would like to know if there’s any doc in particular to look for in NUH and how long you took to recover from the surgery ..
Thanks.
On 4th December 2011 11:57 PM,
Vince said:
Professor Yeo was my lead oral/maxillofacial surgeon at NUH. You can consult him about your jaw surgery and he will set you up on the government subsidy under certain conditions. You won’t get to choose your oral/maxillofacial surgeons.
It took me over 2 months to recover to a comfortable level. I think it took me over 6 months for the swelling to do down. Give it at least 1 full year to feel 100% OK again. It is a long process. I am still wearing my braces after over a year after my jaw surgery and I hope to get rid of my braces soon.
On 29th December 2011 1:22 AM,
Jing Yi said:
hi vince,
is it possible that the government subsidies like the one you’ve received varies case by case? i’ve been going to the national dental center for consults a while ago, but i’ve never actually heard of the subsidies in full amounts until now. When I called to make an appointment for a reconsult, I was told to go thru the polyclinics to get a referral letter to be eligible for government subsidy, rather than booking an appointment on my own which will make me a private patient. Was it the same as what you experienced?
On 20th January 2012 7:50 AM,
Vince said:
You should also get health insurance that covers hospital fees like NTUC IncomeShield or something equivalent to make your jaw surgery almost free. I seriously did not pay a single cent for my jaw surgery and hospital stay in Singapore. The government subsidy covers probably over 80% of the fees while your insurance will cover the rest of the hospital fees. Consultations are not free though.
You do not need to get a Polyclinic referral letter.
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