A 23-year-old woman documented her orthodontic treatment on social media, from the first X-rays to her final post-surgery reveal. At one stage, her upper and lower teeth no longer met, and the gap between her front teeth stretched nearly 17 millimeters.
Her condition affected her life from early childhood, shaping how she navigated school, friendships, and daily routines. The treatment plan would stretch across multiple years and involve consultations, physical alterations, and long stretches of waiting.
She began documenting her progress during the early phases of intervention. As time went on, she continued sharing each stage with growing transparency, offering a clear record of one of the most extensive procedures available in orthodontics and facial reconstruction.
Birth Condition and Early Impact
Kirsten Rendell was born with a narrow palate and a pronounced underbite. The condition affected her in multiple ways: it gave her a lisp, made chewing difficult, and caused complications with breathing.
Over time, it also had a noticeable impact on her appearance, something that became increasingly difficult to manage as she got older. At school, she was bullied for the way she looked. She avoided being photographed and disliked that she couldn’t control how her jaw appeared in pictures.
These challenges became part of her daily life, shaping how she interacted with others and viewed herself. Her underbite, as she later described, consumed nearly every aspect of her life, affecting speech, eating, and confidence.
By the end of her teenage years, Rendell began actively seeking medical help to address the condition. This decision would mark the beginning of a long, staged treatment plan that required precise planning and long-term commitment.
Initial Consultations and Start of Treatment
Rendell began her treatment journey in late 2019. Her first steps involved meeting with both an orthodontist and a surgeon to begin detailed planning. These early stages included taking photos, undergoing X-rays, and attending multiple appointments to assess her condition and outline the course of action.
She later explained that while the entire process, from the first consultations to the final surgery, spanned six years, the active surgical phase lasted four. “Either way you look at it, it’s still a very long time,” she said in a January 2025 post.
From the beginning, she was informed that palatal expansion would create a visible gap between her front teeth, and due to gum recession, this space might not fully close. Her doctors planned to bring her upper jaw forward, move her lower jaw back, and shift her chin slightly to align the midline.
Before she could return to the surgeon, new X-rays and molds would be required to guide the surgical team. Even with preparations underway, delays were expected, as the hospital’s maxillofacial department was experiencing a backlog.
With the initial plans in place, Rendell moved into the next phase of treatment, marking the start of what would become a physically demanding and emotionally complex period.
Progress and Delays
With her orthodontic plan in motion, Rendell entered a critical stage in early 2020 that involved expanding her upper jaw to create enough space for realignment. This phase produced a dramatic change in her appearance. Her front teeth were pulled apart as part of the expansion, eventually forming a 17-millimeter gap.
kirsten rendelll dated March 29, 2025 | Source: Tiktok\@kirstenrendelll
By May 2022, she shared a detailed update: her bite now had a 7-millimeter vertical gap between the upper and lower teeth. Orthodontists were focused on closing spaces and preparing new molds to finalize the surgical plan.
However, she had already been told that the top gap between her front teeth might never fully close due to gum recession, an expected but still difficult outcome. In addition to the physical strain, Rendell faced increasing uncertainty.
The hospital’s maxillofacial department had become severely backed up. Regardless of whether her teeth were ready, her surgery would be delayed. This added months of waiting, during which her emotional state began to decline. On February 8, 2022, she shared a photo in braces along with a caption that reflected her mental state at the time.
“The last couple weeks I think have probably been the hardest mentally so far… Coming to terms with the fact I most likely won’t be getting my next surgery as soon as I had thought has made things hard,” she shared.
She continued, “I’ve started to struggle a lot more with the way my jaw/face is looking and have constantly been focusing on how I don’t like the way I look. I never really prepared for how tough this process would be mentally.”
Though she tried to present a hopeful image, she also acknowledged through her posts the unseen challenges of jaw surgery and the toll of living in prolonged anticipation.
Her decision to continue sharing updates was driven in part by a desire to help others going through similar experiences. In a post from May 2023, she wrote, “If I’m able to help at least one person, then that’s my job done x.”
As delays stretched on and the physical changes became more visible, Rendell’s quiet documentation began reaching a wider audience, setting the stage for the next phase of her journey.
Visibility and Growth on Social Media
What began as personal documentation gradually turned into a public record of her journey. She began posting more frequently on TikTok and Instagram, sharing photos and video updates that showed her changing face and evolving treatment plan.
In March 2023, she reflected on how far she had come since the early stages, both physically and emotionally. She wrote, “Never in a million years did I think I’d be where I am right now! If you told me two years ago that I would be posting videos and documenting this journey to over 100,000 people I’d probably laugh [sic].”
She admitted that, until recently, she struggled to open up about her challenges. She shared, “Two years ago I hid the fact I had jaw surgery and a HUGE 17mm gap [sic].” By this point, her audience had grown significantly.
She credited the support from her TikTok community as a key factor in her growing comfort. “If it wasn’t for all the support I’ve been receiving on my TikTok platform,” she added, “I probably wouldn’t be as confident smiling the way I am today.”
As Rendell continued sharing her updates, she was still awaiting her next major operation. The psychological strain remained, but her content reflected a more public sense of accountability, purpose, and momentum.
In the months that followed, she would finally undergo the most significant and physically demanding stage of the process: double jaw surgery.
Understanding Double Jaw Surgery
The surgery Rendell was about to undergo is typically performed when both the upper and lower jaws are misaligned, as was the case for Rendell.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, corrective jaw surgery, or orthognathic surgery, is used to physically reposition the jawbones in order to improve bite alignment, speech, and overall function. Braces and other orthodontic tools can shift teeth, but they cannot move bones.
That’s why jaw surgery is often the only option when skeletal structure is the root of the issue. The full process generally takes two to three years, and it’s not a single event. It includes:
- Orthodontic preparation to align the teeth before surgery.
- Surgical correction of the jaw positions.
- Additional orthodontic work to stabilize the bite during healing.
- There are three common types of jaw surgery:
- Maxillary osteotomy (upper jaw)
- Mandibular osteotomy (lower jaw)
- Bimaxillary osteotomy (both jaws), which Rendell received.
Jaw surgery can’t usually be done until a person’s bones have finished growing, often in late adolescence. Recovery varies, but most people return to light activity within a few weeks. Full healing may take up to a year. This was the procedure Rendell had been building toward since 2019.
Double Jaw Surgery and Recovery
In mid-2024, after years of preparation and delays, Rendell underwent the procedure she had been building toward from the start. On July 9, 2024, she shared a photo from her hospital bed with a caption confirming that her surgery was complete.
“After a 7 1/2 hour surgery I am finally on the road to recovery with no underbite!! I cannot thank everyone enough for the support and messages,” she penned. “Really feeling the love, thank you 🩷 [sic].”
The operation involved repositioning both her upper and lower jaws, along with adjusting her chin to ensure alignment. Known as double jaw surgery, or bimaxillary osteotomy, the procedure is typically reserved for patients whose skeletal misalignment cannot be corrected by orthodontics alone.
In the weeks that followed, Rendell continued sharing her recovery process. On August 5 of the same year, she posted a video capturing her condition before the surgery, her immediate post-op appearance, and her early progress. The caption detailed the toll her condition had taken on her life.
She noted that while there was still healing to be done, the procedure had given her a foundation to begin learning how to eat and speak again. She was two weeks away from starting speech and chewing exercises, and emphasized how difficult the previous four weeks had been.
“It’s been a mental battle and I cannot thank my friends and family enough for the love and support 🩷,” she wrote. Rendell’s updates at this stage reflected both progress and caution.
She had reached a turning point, but recovery was still far from over. By the end of summer, her focus shifted toward regaining strength and movement, bringing her into the next stage of life after surgery.
Lifestyle Changes and Physical Activity
As her recovery progressed, Rendell began gradually returning to her daily routines and incorporating more physical activity into her life. Her posts from the second half of 2024 reflected a visible shift in focus, with glimpses into everyday life and moments spent outdoors.
On September 23, 2024, she shared a short video from a run, captioned, “I like to go for a run and see new scenery 🤥🏃♂️”
Later, on December 30, she posted a photo of herself doing a handstand in front of a large boulder while visiting her mother. The caption read, “Visiting mum, mandatory handstand in front of the boulders 🍈 🤸♀️.”
While she didn’t directly reference her recovery in either post, the images showed increased physical movement and energy following months of restricted activity. With her major surgeries behind her, Rendell was nearing the conclusion of a process that had taken more than five years.
Final Reveal and Viral Response
In March 2025, Rendell shared a montage video documenting the full arc of her treatment. The clip, posted to TikTok on March 29, showed her condition before surgery, the physical changes during each stage of treatment, and the final outcome.
Her caption read, “5 years, 2 surgeries later! Palatal expansion, wisdom teeth removal & double jaw surgery. It’s been a long 5 years, but I did it and I love each and every single person who has supported me, couldn’t have done it without you’s [sic].”
She also uploaded the same video to Instagram with an expanded caption that reflected on her journey. “I’ve done it and basically at the end of the journey. So lucky to have had the best support system from both my close friends and family as well as from strangers on here,” she wrote.
Separately, she posted a photo showing her smiling post-treatment. This drew direct reactions to her appearance, with one user commenting, “You look so gorgeous ❤️❤️❤️,” and another writing, “Absolutely beautiful and a smile to light up a room! You’re such an inspiration, thank you so much xxx.” A third said, “Absolute stunner 💕.”
Another post showed a side profile of her face. Here, one follower remarked, “Wow! Even your cheekbones look amazing! You look beautiful,” while others responded with, “Whoa!!!” and “So beautiful results.”
As of May 2025, Rendell is 23 years old. She continues to share her experience with her audience of over 119,000 followers on TikTok, where her account has accumulated more than 10.6 million likes. Her posts remain focused on documenting her journey, offering a reference point for others navigating similar long-term treatments.
