Doctors in Iowa turned to artificial intelligence and 3D printing to reconstruct the jaw of a 17-year-old girl who was shot in the face at close range.
Mya Buie was allegedly shot by her mother’s ex-boyfriend during a domestic dispute just days before her birthday in October 2025, according to local news outlet KCCI. The gunshot shattered her jaw into tiny pieces and damaged four of her teeth.
“It was kind of scary,” Buie said while speaking to the outlet. “It was traumatic.”
Now, thanks to cutting-edge medical technology, facial reconstruction trauma surgeon Dr. Simon Wright is helping give Buie a second chance at a normal life.
Wright explained that in the past, rebuilding facial bones meant manually shaping titanium plates — a process he described as slow and often imperfect.
“There is always a level of dissatisfaction, and it doesn’t feel good to do something just good enough,” he said.
This time, however, Wright and his team took a different approach. Using AI, they created a detailed scan of Buie’s face and sent it to a lab in Jacksonville, Florida. There, a 3D printer produced a jawbone plate designed specifically for her anatomy.
“It’s so much easier than trying to bend a plate to get it perfect,” Wright told KCCI. “It’s no question a game-changer.”
While custom medical plates have existed for more than a decade, Wright noted that speed is what makes this breakthrough remarkable.
“The ability to make a custom plate has been around for 10 years or more, but the ability to do it very quickly has not been,” he said, adding that advances like this highlight the importance of continued investment in medical research.
Buie, a high school junior who plans to graduate early, is expected to make a full recovery.
“I just thank God every day for giving me a second chance at life,” she told KCCI. “I’m very grateful. I can tell my story and spread the word of God with this story, like a testament.”
According to the outlet, Buie will also receive dental implants in the near future to replace the four teeth she lost in the shooting.
