Foods you can't eat easily with an open bite!

So. Why would you put yourself through such a long, strange and swollen process? Doesn't your face look pretty much the same? Was it worth the money?! Does it actually make your bite better?

These are all questions I've been asked by folk who are not trying to be mean in any way, they just don't quite understand why I'm cheerful when I say "Oh yes, my jaw was broken in six places!"

In addition to the other benefits (mouth not hanging open, better breathing through nose, increased sense of smell, cosmetic side effects), a very major reason for jaw surgery is functional. If you have an anterior open bite (your teeth don't touch at the front of your mouth), you will find it very hard to bite certain foods. Anything smaller than the gap between your teeth just isn't going to get bitten unless you: a) cut it up with a knife and fork and by-pass biting altogether, or b) you can get some kind of grip on the food and tear it lion-style by gripping it with your back teeth.

It was just this kind of lion-beast tactic that landed me in an embarrassing situation one day in a Burger King. It having been a stressful day, I was tucking into a chicken burger and had unwisely chosen to sit in the bar-style seats facing out of the front of the restaurant window. They don't have knives and forks in Burger King (or not that one anyway) so I was forced to resort to dysfunctional biting techniques.

I tore into my chicken burger, gripping it with my back teeth as described above. As is often the case, this tactic didn't prove majorly successful and most of the burger components slid down my face and neck. I looked up, mayonnaise-chinned, to see a group of relatively fit guys about my age staring at me through the window in horror and disgust! This is all very funny looking back, and them being strangers and only RELATIVELY fit, I removed the lettuce from my bosom and continued munching away.

So in homage to my previously gammy jaw, and in anticipation of all the things I will eat without a thought when my teeth are back to normal after recovery, here are SOME of the foods that are difficult to eat with an open bite!

Burgers are hard because of all their flat layers that go through the teeth gap!

Any kind of meat on the bone is very tricky because without front tooth contact, it's very hard to get meat off

Pizzas, or any kind of topped bread, are dangerous because of their flat toppings that won't get bitten! Be prepared for all the topping to come off in one go because you can't make a bite...

Sliced meats like ham are another tricky one! They're just too thin and go straight through the teeth gap

Salad sandwiches or anything involving sliced lettuce/tomato/cucumber etc that isn't eaten with a knife and fork is very tricky! Salad is just too thin and you might as well play 'look what I can do!' by sliding bits of cucumber quite happily between your teeth gap

Fruits that you bite into are tricky, unless they will 'snap', like apples. Things like plums, peaches and strawberries are tricky because your front teeth can't finish the bite. There would always be a bit left in the fruit where my teeth hadn't closed and bitten it off. Always best eaten chopped up with an open bite!

Sushi or any kind of canapé can be tricky, again because of thinly sliced components. If you can't shove it all in your mouth in one go, be prepared for sliding toppings and trailing bits hanging out of your mouth!