Well, I don't know your exact situation but i've had three surgeries on my tmj, the first two were partially covered by my insurance as a medical condition. The last one the doc wanted to do total jaw replacement which would have cost me $90,000.00, the insurance would no longer cover me so therefore I didn't opt for that solution. Since the insurance company would no longer cover my tmj, I took it to the governer of my state, the medical examination board and lots of other people. My surgery was not covered, I opted for a second version, and had to take a second mortgage out on my home to pay for it. However, after all my work the state forced a change on all insurance companies to cover more thoroughly tmj. I'm in missouri. If you have medical insurance that is who would be paying for this. With that said, what you have already paid, seems to be too much! Good luck with all of this!

What work have you had (or getting done) thats costing you 10k? Im spending 8k (ausd) but thats for braces and teeth extractions. My chiropractors helped out my back a lot, and while id recommend seeing one dont keep going if it doesnt work within a couple of weeks.

With the first surgery the cartilage had slipped out of the joint, the doc tried to put it back where it belongs. It didn't work. The second surgery a year later, he took a slice from my leg to build cartilage in my jaw joints. That lasted about 3 years. I switched docs and after 3 yrs the cartilage was again completely gone, my bones were chipping and I couldn't open my mouth past a 1/4 inch! It was pretty painful and extreme! So the last surgery the doc took huge chunks out of my thigh and used it to build up the cartilage, shaved off my jaw bones and the skull, and realigned. That was 3 1/2 years ago! I'm praying this one lasts! The doc that did that surgery was forced to retire early due to a cyst on his neck from doing so many surgeries. It's difficult to find a good tmj doc. Some say they know what they are doing but not all do. I totally agree to try everything you can before surgery, but in my case there was no other alternative. As you can imagine none of those were small cases. The last surgery was an 8 hr surgery. Thus the extreme cost, and that was with the hospital and the doc cutting me a deal. Good luck to you!