Pirates have wooden teeth, old folk have dentures and Alex Godsy has porcelain veneer teeth and a metal jaw. 

Returning from a vacation with his family, their car crashed into a canyon wall resulting in multiple jaw fractures and broken teeth for Godsy, senior.

“Freshman year I was in a bad car accident where my jaw was shattered in a couple places and my teeth were for the most part all broken off,” Godsy said. “One of the breaks in my jaw was right underneath my wisdom teeth and it cracked them in half.”

The harsh remedy for Godsy’s painful aliment required him to get his jaw wired shut for six weeks. 

“When you get your jaw wired shut you lose about 30 pounds,” Godsy said. “You drink smoothies and meat paste. I was really thankful in the end that my teeth were broken in half because it made it a lot easier to drink stuff.”

     The wire, placed around his mouth, pierced his gums and attached through his teeth. Known in the medical world as maxillomandibular fixation, metal pins and wires are held in the jaw bones as well as surrounding tissues to keep the jaw from moving and, in Godsy’s case, giving the jaw fractures time to heal. 

     Although he was only in the hospital for a day or two after the surgery, Godsy, who is an avid member of the KHS cross country and track teams, said his running was largely affected.

     “I came to several track practices, but I definitely couldn’t run as well I usually could,” Godsy said. “I couldn’t breath well enough and always having to worry about throwing up ruined [my running] too.”

The danger of choking on his own vomit was a constant worry for Godsy.

“I had to carry wire clippers around my neck on a necklace all the time,” Godsy said.

Prior to the accident that changed his mouth forever, Godsy’s teeth were just done straightening out.

“I had just gotten my braces off six months before,” Godsy said. “I was a little bit annoyed.”