A Canadian college student, Javeria Wasim, suffered a freak accident after attempting to bite into a giant jawbreaker candy, resulting in two fractures in her jaw and a six-week recovery on an all-liquid diet.
“We got a giant one, the biggest size they had,” Wasim was quoted as saying by People. The two friends even quizzed the shop owner about the candy: “‘Can we bite into this? The candy is literally called a jawbreaker.’ “
What happened?
The 19-year-old, accompanied by a friend, bought the largest size of jawbreaker candy while shopping. Despite joking about its name and even asking the shopkeeper if it was safe to bite into, Wasim decided to try it.
- Immediate damage: After biting into the candy, her jaw began to hurt. Her front tooth chipped, another became wiggly, and the pain quickly escalated.
- Emergency care: An ambulance was called, and X-rays revealed two fractures in her jaw.
Surgery and recovery
Doctors performed an hour-long surgery to realign her jaw and inserted bars on her gums to wire it shut.
- Diet changes: With her jaw immobilized, Wasim has been restricted to a liquid diet for six weeks.
- Emotional toll: She described the experience as traumatic, vowing never to eat candy again. “You realize how important your mouth is. It has affected my life so much,” she said.
A word of caution
Wasim is now warning others against attempting to bite into large jawbreaker candies, suggesting they stick to licking them—even if it takes weeks to finish.