A TEENAGER has undergone painful surgery and is on a liquid diet after her jaw broke in two places when she ate a popular children's sweet.
Javiria Wasim and her friend bought two gobstopper candies, also known as jaw-dropping candy, when shopping in Toronto last month.
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The duo returned to their dorm room where 19-year-old Waseem decided to try biting the three-inch diameter ball to get to the middle.
Usually, you have to keep licking the gobstoppers until you reach the middle where the gummies are.
But Waseem never reached that point, as she suddenly felt pain in her jaw, and her friend indicated that her front tooth was broken and the other was loose.
The college student quickly discovered why the sweets were called Jawbreaker.
After being taken to hospital for an X-ray and CT scan, Waseem was told that she had broken her jaw in two places.
She was “shocked” at the damage caused by the sweets as doctors told her her teeth were “wobbly” because they were on top of a bone that had become separated.
The teen could barely open her mouth and now has her mouth closed while she heals.
She said: “It was very painful, I was crying a lot when the ambulance came and everything was a blur.”
“They told me my jaw was broken and had to be closed with wires.
“I was shocked. I thought my biggest problem was my broken teeth.”
Waseem underwent an hour-long surgery the day after the accident in which her jaw was realigned and a rod was inserted into her upper and lower gums.
“The first week after surgery I was in so much pain, I can't explain it. I was lying in bed and taking painkillers,” the teenager said.
“I slept because the only time I didn't feel pain was when I was asleep.”
During the six-week recovery period, Waseem was on a liquid-only diet.
She said: “I can't eat anything. All I eat is protein shakes and soup. I lost seven pounds in two weeks.”
“I haven't eaten for 42 days. I eat soup but you're never full, you're always hungry.
“All I can think about is how hungry I am. I've taken feeling full for granted. I miss food so much.”
She added: “I also feel angry all the time… You realize how important your mouth is, and you use it for literally everything in your life. It has affected my life so much.”
The business student said she was “traumatized” by what happened and that she would “probably never attempt a broken jaw again”.
When she and her friend bought candy, they wanted to buy “the largest size they had.”
“I said we have to break it because people are working their way through it and it takes months to get through it all,” Waseem recalls.
“It was stupid, people breaking their jaws in car accidents and fights, and this was an avoidable way to break your jaw.
“I would tell people if they want to get in the middle of a disorder, it's better to take six weeks to get there than to spend six weeks suffering the consequences of biting it and closing their jaw.”
Waseem's jaw was broken on Monday, but she will need braces to fix her teeth after the accident damaged all her lower teeth.
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