The pain was worth it: the transformation of a girl after an operation to correct her bite (6 photos + 1 video)
Louise McDermott has had double jaw surgery to correct her overbite and shared photos of her journey to a stunning smile. The 26-year-old wrote: "It was worth it." 
Louise was nine years old when she developed an overbite, with her lower jaw sticking out by 3cm.
Her confidence was shaken as a teenager. "People would say, 'You have a big jaw,'" she said.
'My jaw was causing me a lot of pain and I hated having my picture taken.'
The Bradford woman added: 'The comments didn't really bother me because I always knew I would have surgery in the future.' 
She had her jaw reduced by 4mm when she was 18.
Louise would go to hospital every six weeks to have her teeth assessed for readiness for surgery.
'I was so desperate. I was so scared I'd need surgery again that I didn't go to university,' she said. 
She had to wear braces for another eight years before undergoing an osteotomy that lasted five hours. As a result, her lower jaw shifted back by 0.8 millimeters, and the upper jaw moved forward by 1 centimeter.
Rehabilitation was difficult: her face was so swollen that the girl could not eat solid food for two months.
“Full recovery took about 18 months. At first, I ate only liquid food through a straw for two weeks, then I was able to switch to mashed potatoes. It was incredibly uncomfortable. I couldn’t swallow, I couldn’t feel my teeth. I needed 24/7 care.”
“On the third day, my eye swelled up and wouldn’t open. I could only see half of it. My cheeks, neck, lips, chin were all bruised and swollen, and my nose was bleeding. But it was worth it. My life has changed.”
“I still have trouble eating and chewing solid foods, my chin tingles, and I can’t move my upper lip.”
Louise is getting her braces off in January. She's really looking forward to it. And she's gained confidence now.
"People often don't recognize me. Even my neighbors and colleagues didn't recognize me right away when they first saw me," she shared.
"I like my profile now. Everything is in its place and symmetrical. I'm really happy and I feel a million times better. When I take pictures, I feel like I'm making up for all those years. I feel so much more confident and I would do it all over again."
