I had presurgical orthodontic treatment in 2019 at a dental clinic near Exit 11 of Gangnam Station (the hospital I was referred to after visiting JET Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery first).
Until now, because I ended up being unable to visit for a long period and was busy with various things, my presurgical orthodontic treatment dragged on for almost 5 years, so the overall orthodontic period became quite long.
Last year I decided to have surgery and started looking into orthognathic surgery hospitals, but every place pointed out shortcomings in my orthodontic treatment. After that, I hurriedly started additional orthodontic work to push my lower teeth back and create space between the front teeth.
I want to write down the reviews and experiences from the hospitals I have visited so far.
1. Professor G at Konkuk University Hospital. - He is also a first-generation orthognathic surgery professor, and the professor who first performed genioplasty with a double osteotomy in Korea. Among all the hospitals I visited afterward, he gave the most detailed and longest consultation. (However, the consultation fee was 100,000 won, so it is on the expensive side.) As expected from a professor who had a reputation for being very conservative on the Railway Office cafe on Naver, he also spoke conservatively here. He said the presurgical orthodontics I am undergoing is not suitable for surgery, so there are shortcomings in the orthodontic treatment. On top of that, I want to set my lower jaw back more, but that would require additional extractions, and there are not enough teeth left to extract. Therefore, he said he could not do double jaw surgery for me.
2. Professor Ch at Chung-Ang University. - Unlike Professor G, he explained the surgical plan in a more proactive and positive way. (I was a little surprised.) Because my case is not typical, ASO is not possible, and only double jaw surgery is possible, but since the lower jaw has to be set back more than usual, he said to extract two more lower teeth now, close the space with orthodontics (which would take 2 years), then set the lower jaw back as much as possible, place one additional implant on each side behind the molars for a total of 2 implants, and for the upper jaw, rotate it counterclockwise while also bringing it slightly forward. (Probably to secure the airway space?) But in my case, the protrusion is caused by maxillary development, so I found it odd that he would move the maxilla forward. Anyway, Professor Ch said that even if it is moved back, the protrusion would not become severe. (It looked like some technical adjustment would be involved during rotation.) Still, I gave up because I felt burdened by the additional extractions, and because my presurgical orthodontic period is already long, having to spend another 2 years on top of that was too difficult. I also felt uneasy about bringing the maxilla forward. The professor himself seemed to make the surgical plan well, checked the joints by pressing on the jaw with his hand, and, as rumored, seemed like a good doctor.
3. Wizz Dental Clinic - The director, Dr. G, is famous on YouTube. Like Professor G, he is also a first-generation orthognathic surgeon and is quite conservative. The consultation was relatively brief; they took only one X-ray and ended right away. This was the first time I learned that my airway is very narrow compared with other people. After looking at the X-ray, the director said, on his professional conscience, that he could not operate on this case. He explained that if I had double jaw surgery, the airway would become even narrower and could cause sleep apnea and significant side effects as I age. <-- This was a shock to me. This was the first time I realized my airway was narrow, and both the upper and lower airways are narrow. In addition, during presurgical orthodontics, they had already extracted two upper teeth (because there was not enough extraction space), so ASO was already not an option. I was told double jaw surgery was not possible. I felt quite depressed on the way home that day. I kept thinking whether they should not have extracted the upper teeth during presurgical orthodontics, or whether ASO should have been considered in order to accommodate the mouth since my airway is narrow.
At this point, two out of the three places had told me that double jaw surgery was not possible. I also clearly recognized that I am a more difficult case than most people. Narrow airway, severe mandibular hypoplasia, protruding mouth caused by maxillary development.
But I am 30 years old, and as I have lived up to now, in school I was teased for a year because of my protruding mouth and recessed chin, and I was publicly humiliated; even after becoming an adult, I heard the same things in the military, and being put down for my appearance became routine. I have endured all this with only one thought: that I would get surgery, so I could not give up here. I overcame the setback and kept going to consultations.
4. Olso Dental Clinic - The reviews were good here too, so I went. I saw Director Kim M.S. My first impression was that the facilities were quite clean and the equipment looked good. The conclusion was that surgery itself is not impossible, but because the airway is also narrow, they said the upper jaw could hardly be moved in. And when I asked which other hospitals I had been to, after I told them, they briefly said it seemed like I had researched well, and that it seemed like I had not. I was a little surprised when they said I had probably gone to Chung-Ang University by mistake. The director said Chung-Ang University was not a university hospital but a place where a general private clinic was housed, though I do not know whether that is factually correct. He said surgery is possible and that while there would not be much improvement in the degree of protrusion, the lower jaw would improve compared with now and my overall appearance would improve compared with now. However, the important part was that the result in improving the protruding mouth differed from what I wanted. The consultation itself was quite good: it was long, they answered my questions in detail, looked at my face from various angles while explaining things, and overall it was a good consultation. As with the previous hospitals, they pointed out shortcomings in my orthodontics and recommended additional orthodontic treatment. If the improvement in the protruding mouth had met my expectations, I think I might have chosen this place.
5. JET Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Director Ch C.P. first saw me five years ago and is the hospital that recommended the orthodontic clinic I am currently going to. Here, the director never charges a consultation fee, and there is no consultation manager; the director personally handles every consultation. Five years ago, before I started orthodontics, I also had impacted wisdom teeth extracted here, and his skill was excellent. Originally, I had decided to have double jaw surgery here and started presurgical orthodontics for that reason, but when it came time to seriously consider surgery, I wanted to look into various hospitals, so I did not choose this place and instead visited many others. They do not do any advertising at all, so honestly I still do not really know what kinds of cases they handle or how they do things. However, the consultation was good, the wisdom tooth extraction skill was excellent, and I met another patient who had surgery here through the Railway Office cafe on Naver, and they said they were satisfied with the outcome. But that person had Class III malocclusion (underbite), so it was a completely different case from mine, and it is only useful as a simple reference. They answered everything I asked, and the consultation itself was quite good, and this place also had the lowest consultation fee. But the final reason I did not choose it (though it is not fully decided yet?) was, first, that the orthodontic clinic I am currently going to was introduced to me here, but I later found out that the orthodontic clinic director was not an orthodontic specialist (though that may be because he trained at a foreign university), and I was also not very satisfied with the orthodontics. On top of that, when I first visited JET, they recommended double jaw surgery rather than ASO, but I also wondered whether ASO should have been considered if the airway was too narrow for double jaw surgery. I also asked about this on a later visit, and they said the airway is narrow but that double jaw surgery is possible. I still do not know whose words are correct, but one thing is certain: all the other places said my current orthodontics are insufficient and that I am not suitable for surgery right away, whereas JET said surgery could be done immediately. This lowered my trust somewhat. It was the first hospital I went to, so I thought about it a lot, but eventually I gave up on it.
6. Force U Dental Clinic - Director Y S.J. Among all the hospitals I have been to so far, this one had the highest surgery fee. (Starting from 15 million won.) The consultation here was the most satisfying. First, the manager? (they said nurse, but I am not sure) consulted with me, and then the director did, showing before-and-after X-rays and explaining things in detail, even saying that the staff member's nephew had surgery there. He also explained which parts of my orthodontic treatment were still insufficient. (Which occlusal surfaces were lacking, and so on.) In addition, he showed predicted results using a 3D program (Op...? I am not sure of the name) and explained why surgery right now would be insufficient, using 3D as well. Also, this was the only place that said they would make some PPT-like file showing how it changed before and after surgery and send it to the orthodontic clinic so they could tell them how to do the postoperative orthodontics. The consultation was very satisfying and I gained trust. He said my case does indeed require surgery, but because there are shortcomings in the orthodontic part, it would be a pity to try to get the maximum result from surgery, so he told me to do more orthodontic treatment and come back, and wrote a referral letter. Fortunately, it was not a case of refusing surgery, so that was at least a relief, and the consultation itself was the most satisfying.
7. Lee Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Director G J.W. This hospital is also famous on YouTube and has quite a lot of reviews. It was hard to get an appointment, and uniquely here they required a reservation fee (they said it was because of no-shows...), and if you decided to have surgery, they also took a 200,000 won deposit in advance... Because the hospital was crowded, it seemed to be moving very busily, and while other hospitals felt somewhat quiet, this one looked the busiest (though maybe that is because I went there last). The consultations also seemed to move straight from one person to the next as soon as one finished. Because of that, I wondered whether they were really doing one-on-one customized care for each patient. The explanation was quite brief, and before the consultation with the director, I waited about 30 minutes. They said the delay was because they were making a plan after reviewing my X-ray. There were things that felt somewhat unsatisfying and a bit unsettling, but Director G J.W. himself explained things neatly. (He broadly divided it into protrusion, long face, and recessed chin.) And if I asked questions, he seemed to answer everything? He seemed busy, so I regretted not being able to ask more. Oh, and I did see him with my mask lowered, but he did not fully take it off to check, so that was also a little disappointing. I also asked about the small airway space, and he showed other surgical cases and said that the changes in the upper airway were almost the same before and after surgery, so it was fine. The consultation was not extremely satisfying, but it was not unsatisfying either, just so-so. He also said that since the philtrum may look longer after surgery, he could introduce a clinic that is good at philtrum reduction, but I am not sure. This place has a lot of reviews and seems to pay a lot of attention to aesthetics as well, so although the consultation itself was not 100% satisfying, I kept being drawn to it. For now, I decided on this hospital because it has many reviews and because of the aesthetic aspect, but I am still looking into other hospitals.
That is roughly what I remember, and I am still undergoing orthodontic treatment now and will probably have surgery within three months, so I will post an update later.
I am uploading a business card photo as evidence. (I could not get a business card from Wizz because I was cut off too quickly, lol)