For more than 10 years, she could only eat soft food and often woke up in the middle of the night in distress. Talking caused a sharp pain, and she avoided conversations that lasted more than a minute.   

Kindra Finley

The mother of four couldn’t do daily tasks around the house since she couldn’t lift or reach anything because the muscles in her head and neck were tight, and it was painful to move. Yawning hurt, and she couldn’t clear her ears on an airplane.   

“The pain was excruciating,” Finley said. “It was just bone on bone every time I opened and closed my mouth. It was a shooting pain – a debilitating sharp pain in my head. I just wanted to feel, quote-unquote, normal.”   

Finley underwent multiple treatments and four surgeries to treat progressive degenerative joint disease, a chronic condition where bone and cartilage in the jaw joint degrade over time. But nothing worked to ease the pain.   

Dr. Adnan Shah, professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery and department head of dental diagnostic and surgical sciences at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, decided the last resort was jaw joint replacement surgery.  

Dr. Adnan Shah (middle) and his team (from left to right) Dr. Ramneek Grower, Dr. Meagan Brown, Dr. Brayden Patterson, Dr. Adnan Shah, Dr. Mina Hanna, Dr. Asma Rachid, Dr. Saba Raeisi and Kelsey Morissette.

In April 2024, at the Health Sciences Centre, Shah and his team of residents performed the first jaw joint replacement surgery in the province. Manitoba patients are currently sent to Toronto to have the surgery, which is also known as a total temporomandibular joint replacement.   

“Once we decided there was no other treatment left but to do a total joint replacement, we took a CT scan of Kindra’s face, and based on discussions with the engineers from the manufacturing company, the specific type of implants and sizes were made,” Shah said.   

“We took the diseased joint out and then placed the implants. We reconstructed part of the jawbone and the joint itself.”   

Shah believes that because the jaw is such an important part of the body, this surgery should be as routine in the province as replacing a knee or hip.   

“After the surgery, patients no longer suffer,” Shah said. “This procedure helps people like Kindra live a better life.”   

One year later, Finley is pain-free with normal jaw function and has her life back.   

“It’s like night and day,” said Finley, who lives in Brandon, Man. “I can actually have a hamburger. No pain. No cracking. Nothing.”   

The surgery changed her life. She no longer takes pain medication. She sings to the radio with her daughter while driving her car. She no longer avoids grocery shopping and carries on long conversations. She can empty the dishwasher and smiles in photos again.   

“You don’t realize what you can’t do when you can’t open your mouth,” Finley said. “I needed this surgery. People don’t understand how impactful this injury is to your life. It is every minute of every day. It’s just awful. I’m proof this surgery works.”