Getting MMA Surgery for Sleep Apnea on the NHS?

Throughout my journey of figuring out what was wrong with my teeth and skeletal structure, what caused it, and connecting all the various symptoms to it, I’ve consulted with something like 5 or 6 UK dentists and orthodontists, and seen at least two different GPs.

None of them recognised my jaw deficiency or the severity of my jaw dysfunction, or was able to determine the cause of any of my symptoms.

Because of this I’ve been in the mindset of having to find other options for treatment, and it only occurred to me recently that the NHS might cover jaw surgery for sleep apnea. I looked this up and found someone on Reddit who had managed to arrange this, so it is possible.

The NHS uses a thing called the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need to determine whether you can get the surgery.

I’m currently in the process of doing sleep studies with the lung function unit at my local hospital. I was able to get the first sleep study within 2-3 weeks of seeing my GP, and the second one is scheduled for 2-3 weeks later.

I’m skeptical about whether getting surgery on the NHS would be possible within a reasonable amount of time, how easy it would be to discuss different options with the surgeon, whether you would be able to choose your surgeon, and what the result would be like. I’m mostly pursuing this line of treatment for completeness and because having a diagnosis of sleep apnea on my UK medical record could be helpful for the purpose of getting benefits or allowances at work.

I will update this section as this develops.

Update 2024-06-27: I have now been rejected for treatment on the NHS as I do not meet the criteria of the local maxillofacial unit.