ALL ABOUT THAT BITE

I Got Double Jaw Surgery to Fix the Pain I’ve Felt for Years

I tried everything: braces, aligners, dental appliances. Nothing worked until a surgical solution finally fixed all my problems—even ones I hadn’t been aware of.

Christine Tucker, a 34-year-old luxury real estate entrepreneur in Tampa, struggled for years with constant pain before finally finding a solution in double jaw surgery.

As she shared her viral story with The Looker over Zoom, she greeted us with a big, bright smile—a clear sign of how thrilled she is with the surgical repositioning of her upper and lower jaws.

As a child, I had an underdeveloped lower jaw and a very big overbite. My orthodontist gave me an expander to widen my upper jaw, and in 7th grade, I got braces and a Herbst appliance, which was supposed to grow my lower jaw forward. But that didn’t happen: I only developed a habit of thrusting my jaw forward.

It really wasn’t until my twenties and thirties that I started to notice things were off. I would bite down, and some of my teeth wouldn’t touch, so I had to shift my jaw back to chew and make contact.

I started to have constant jaw pain and face pain. I would always ask my husband after a wedding weekend or a long meeting, “Does your face hurt?”

To my surprise, he’d say, “No.” And I’d think, “Wow, mine really does.”

I tried different options: a Carriere appliance, aligners… but nothing helped. Then, in August 2025, I visited a new orthodontist. He took a quick look at me and said, “I don’t think more orthodontics is going to work for you. You should look into jaw surgery.”

That was the first time anyone had suggested surgery.

I jetted home, went online, and eventually came across Dr. David Alfi’s The Alfi Podcast on YouTube. I watched his videos about double jaw surgery and thought, “I’m a candidate for this.”

I called Dr. Alfi’s that same day. The first available consultation was in October—two months away. My heart sank at the prospect of waiting so long.

In the meantime, I visited another oral surgeon—an appointment that did not go well, as the doctor just belittled my concerns. I stopped seeking another practitioner and instead waited for my turn to speak with Dr. Alfi.

Finally, in October, when I flew to Houston for my consultation with Dr. Alfi, I prepared my case assuming I’d need to convince him I needed the procedure. But he needed no persuasion.

Instead, he took 3D X-ray images and informed me that I was a great candidate. It was so nice and validating to meet with someone who actually believes in your symptoms and your story.

The next step was figuring out whether insurance would cover the surgery.

First, I had to do a sleep study and wear this ring on my finger for 30 nights. It measured my Apnea-Hypopnea Index, counting how many times per hour I stop breathing, either partially or fully, for at least 10 seconds. For insurance to cover my procedure, the number had to be over five. I came back at six and a half.

That was a big surprise. I was 34 with mild sleep apnea. I thought, “If I don’t fix this now, it’s not going to get better.
It’s only going to get worse.”

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Insurance also needed me to try one non-surgical option, so I slept with a CPAP for 30 nights. Thankfully, Dr. Alfi has a whole team of insurance coordinators who helped me with the process. I got my approval in April and started to prepare mentally and physically for the operation, which we scheduled for June.

I imagined and rehearsed positive outcomes, like showing up at my post-op appointment and everyone telling me that I was doing great. I set a boundary that no one could tell me a story about someone with a surgery-gone-wrong. I did a lot of research and prepared myself a post-op supplement protocol.

After the surgery, I remember waking up in the hospital, so grateful that I had woken up. During the procedure, Dr. Alfi also fixed my deviated septum, and I could breathe better immediately.

I spent one night at the hospital, and the next six days in an Airbnb.

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BEFORE & AFTER

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The first week after the operation, I was very, very swollen. Not just my face but my ears, throat, nose… Surprisingly, I did not have any bruising on my face, just a yellow bruise down my chest, and I didn’t really feel pain; it was more discomfort.

At first I could only eat juice and broth. I blended soup, put it in a syringe, and fed myself through it. Basic things we do, like eating, drinking, and brushing your teeth, were all hard.

Grocery shopping changed too, and so did cooking dinner: it already takes a long time, and then I had to figure out how to cut it up super small or blend it. We would order takeout, and my husband would finish his meal before I was ready to sit down and eat with him.

At the start, the changes on my face happened fast; I’d race to the mirror in the morning to see what I looked like that day. From the second week to the eighth, the process slowed down.

Now, eight weeks out, I don’t have any pain in my face anymore. None at all. It’s unbelievable. I also used to have constant joint pain, but that is gone, too. I have so much more energy, capacity, creativity… It’s almost hard to believe.

I wanted to document my journey online for my friends to see, but the videos blew up. I got a lot of messages from people thanking me for sharing my process and giving them courage to go through with the procedure.

Some commenters said I look “so different,” but what I hear most is that my face looks more balanced, or that it looks like everything is now where it should have always been. And my iPhone Face ID still works, so I know I haven’t changed that much.

I really want people to know that if you go into this with the right headspace and the right preparation, you can have a great outcome and a great recovery.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

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SILVER LININGS

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Roosa Rahkonen

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Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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