I’m doing my best not to let my wonky jaw get the better of me, and one of my friends sparked the idea for a new illustration series called ‘Wonky Smiles’. If I can’t always smile comfortably, I can at least draw smiles that make me laugh and, I hope, make other people smile too.

As some of you know, I have a chronic, painful temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. At the moment, I’m on the emotional rollercoaster that comes before major surgery. I’ll eventually be having a TMJ implant, and my brain has become remarkably adept at asking unhelpful questions at three o’clock in the morning:

• Is it the right decision?

• Will it finally help?

• What if it just makes things worse?

I suspect anyone who’s faced surgery has had the same worries.

But first comes the glamorous part … Braces. Yes, at 63 years old, I’ll soon be sporting a mouthful of metal so my teeth can be moved to the right position before the operation. Apparently, I’m getting to relive my teenage years, only this time with wrinkles, reading glasses, and considerably less enthusiasm. The school disco is, sadly, not included.

Anyway, I hope they brighten your day.

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Introducing ‘Nibbles the Llama’, who is conducting “quality control” on every flower she meets… by eating them immediately.

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