A woman who felt her uneven teeth made her resemble a ‘shark’ has now attained her desired smile.
Jennifer Markey has dealt with significant dental problems since she was young, leading to teeth overcrowding, a misaligned jaw, and her palate not expanding correctly.
At 14, she was offered jaw surgery but declined at that time.
Due to this, by the time she became an adult, her palate was only 19mm wide compared to the normal 38-41mm.
In 2021, Jennifer opted for double jaw expansion surgery – which involves using a device called a palatal expander to gradually broaden the upper and lower jaw.
The successful procedure resulted in her upper and lower jaw expanding by 10mm and 5mm.
In January, Jennifer underwent double jaw advancement surgery – which moves the upper and lower jaws forward by about 10mm.
Jennifer, a preschool teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota, currently wears braces and says people often say she looks like a ‘different person’ after the surgery.
She stated: ‘It was never about looks for me.
‘I was okay with how I looked, I had accepted that my teeth looked the way they did.
‘I always wanted straight teeth but never knew I would get them.
‘Now I look at my face and think “wow that looks really different”.
‘It is hard to get used to a different face in the mirror.’
Jennifer said she would breathe through her mouth because of her tongue tie, which led to her palate not expanding.
She said: ‘I had a very small palate, it was only 19mm – I ended up with a cross bite.
‘I had teeth growing behind my front teeth, it was like I had a second ro2 of teeth – I looked like a shark.’
In June 2021, Jennifer decided to go for a double jaw expansion surgery to widen her mouth and help straighten her teeth.
‘They disconnected my upper jaw from the rest of my skull,’ she added.
‘After the surgery, I had to expand my own face at home.
‘Twice a day I had to insert a small wire key in the expander and turn it.
‘It felt really strange, the lower jaw expanded by 5mm and the upper jaw expanded by 10mm.’
Jennifer then got braces to straighten her teeth in October 2021, before later undergoing double jaw advancement surgery in January 2024.
She said: ‘Once again, they disconnected the upper jaw from my skull and pulled everything forward.
‘Because of how I breathed, instead of my face growing outward, it grew downward and flattened.’
After the two major surgeries, Jennifer mentioned that people tell her she looks like a ‘different person’ and stated that her family has been ‘extremely’ supportive.
She stated that some individuals claim not to see a change, but when she presents them with the before and after photos, they are surprised.
‘I have many colleagues who mention that I appear completely different.
‘When I see my reflection, I realize that this is how I will look for the rest of my life.’
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