Support Lily's Journey to Getting Corrective Jaw Surgery

In August, Lily went to Wellington with her parents Aimee and Andrew for an orthognathic (corrective jaw) surgery consult.

The reason for her attending is she has a very significant overjet - a dental condition where the top front teeth protrude horizontally past the bottom front teeth. This causes her great discomfort and among other things affects her eating, with a sensation of her teeth feeling loose, especially triggered by hard foods - a very uncomfortable feeling! The overjet can also lead to further dental issues such as tooth wear, gum damage, difficulty chewing or speaking, and heightened risk of injury should she fall or otherwise hurt herself.

In Wellington, she had two wisdom teeth extracted, and on her return to Nelson she has since had braces fitted as the first step in her treatment.

In 10-12 months she will undergo what is called a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) for mandibular advancement, which involves the oral surgeon making cuts to Lily’s lower jawbone to reposition and stabilise it with plates and screws.

There is further likelihood she will need a genioplasty, a type of chin surgery to realign and reshape her chin after the BSSO procedure.

Lily has worked after school jobs since she was 16, and will put a good portion of her own money towards the procedure. We wanted to set this up to help share even a small part of the burden of cost for her and her parents.