Invisalign/Jaw surgery

[fangletooth]

Hey y'all, I posted this in the Main Forum but was redirected here. Hopefully some of you can offer some advice about my situation.

I'm a 2/C midn in ROTC. My teeth have been jacked up my entire life, and over the past three years I've saved up enough money to finally get them fixed. I visited an ortho, and he said I'd need invisalign for three years and then get implants and jaw surgery near the end of treatment. I would ideally start treatment this June and end treatment two years into my service (which means jaw surgery during advanced?). My questions: can I have invisalign before I commission and during flight training? Is jaw surgery disqualifying for pilots if they need it post-commissioning? Can I get jaw surgery during flight training (possibly during some sort of wait period)? Would I use accrued leave for my healing period after jaw surgery (approx. 2 months)? I know the answers to these questions would be highly dependent on a lot of factors, but I would just like to know if it could be done.

I know the topic of invisalign has been brought up before in this forum, but I feel my situation may be a bit unique because of the jaw surgery. Also, I know I should be focusing on more important things, but I've wanted to get my teeth fixed for a long time for multiple reasons (health included), and would rather get them done ASAP rather than wait until shore duty. That said, I don't want to screw myself over with commissioning or during training. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[TimeBomb]

Fang,
First, a disclaimer: I am not a dentist. Calling one of the dentists at NAMI and reviewing your situation may lead to better advice.

That said, dental standards for commissioning are listed in section 9 of DoD Instruction 6130.03. From what you are describing, you would not be eligible for commissioning if you were to be under active orthodontic treatment, including Invisalign treatment. Of course, waivers are possible, but it adds a layer of complexity to your entry onto active duty, and the personnel climate at the time will pretty much determine if a waiver of standards is recommended/granted. Secondly, aviation standards are more stringent than general commissioning standards. Any dental problems will be evaluated at NAMI, and again, waivers may or may not be recommended/granted, depending on a lot of factors outside your control. Finally, elective medical procedures are strongly discouraged during flight training. The mission of the training squadrons is throughput, and anything that will knowingly delay completion of flight training would probably not be initiated. Leave during flight training is generally not approved outside of the usual structured leave periods (like Christmas). Finally, earned regular leave is not used for medical purposes. Your treating physician/dentist will recommend "convalescent leave", which is not drawn against your accrued leave balance. Getting 2 months of con leave in the middle of flight training for an elective procedure is pretty unlikely in my opinion.

In summary, starting orthodontic treatment prior to commissioning is going to make your life a lot more complicated, and may prevent commissioning. You may or may not be eligible for flight training without treatment, depending on what the dentists at NAMI think. You probably won't be able to have anything done until after you complete all your training, but at that point, the Navy will be paying for it.

R/

 

[fangletooth]

Thanks for the info! Yea this definitely seems like it would complicate things. I find it strange that the NAMI waiver guide doesn't discuss anything dental related, besides the fact that one must be designated class I/II. I know I'm class II, but I still don't like the fact that my teeth are chipping even though I'm qualified by navy standards.