Joy's Miracle

Popeye smile vs a more straight smile

We have the choice to purchase dental insurance for our family every year.  Last year I noticed that Joy had a crossbite.  Meaning her teeth did not meet in the middle as they should.  Her upper teeth shifted to one side.  As a child, I also had a crossbite and wore an expander for my upper jaw for about 6 months.  Which is why I even noticed Joy's teeth issue.  But I put off seeking treatment because we didn't have dental insurance last year.

This year we signed up for dental insurance specifically to cover the necessary treatment for Joy's bite.  We went to the regular dentist and I asked him about it.  He agreed with me and referred us to the same orthodontist that I saw as a child.  In April they took x-rays and pictures and the orthodontist examined her bite.  He agreed that yes, she has a pretty severe crossbite and will need braces or an expander.  But, because her front 4 teeth hadn't all grown in yet, he wanted to wait 6 months before starting treatment.

We went in today for her appointment where Joy had new pictures and x-rays taken and had an examination of her bite by the orthodontist.  While I was sitting in the office waiting, I had all these visions of how much this was going to cost.  How much pain it would cause Joy.  What it would mean for her diet--nothing sticky or crunchy rules out so many of her favorite foods.  Especially with Halloween and Christmas right around the corner.  How long would she have to have this thing in her mouth?  Would she have to wear a retainer for the rest of her life to keep her jaw in place?

After all the results were in, he turned to me and said that Joy no longer has a crossbite.  None.  She needs nothing.  For some reason, her jaw just expanded on its own.  No explanation.  He said he'd never seen it happen before.

You can see her front teeth were off centered in the top picture
and how her top molars were inside the bottom molars

After he left the room, his assistant just looked at Joy and said that she was magic.  She had never seen anything like this happen before.  I knew better.  This was no magic, this was a bonafide miracle.

I went home to get her pictures from 6 months ago to compare to today's.  Such a difference.  You can visually see that the roof of her mouth actually changed shape.  Her smile went from a Popeye smile to a normal one.  Her front teeth went from off center to centered.

It's not every day you get to see an actual miracle happen.

Can you see in the bottom picture how the roof of
her mouth expanded?  And how her front teeth
essentially opened up?