What is wrong with my jaw and how do I fix this?

[myfacehurts66682828]

Hi sorry this is a long post but I don’t know where else to turn. I’m a 20-year-old female, and I have had this jaw issue for as long as I can remember. At first, it didn’t bother me, but every single day it gets worse. The aesthetic aspect is only one part of it. I don’t expect a fix to make me pretty, but at least it would make me more symmetrical. However, I have so much pain from this.


These are my symptoms aside from the obvious one side is softer:


Feels way too small for my mouth


Hurts when I try to open it


Jaw pain connected to my ears on both sides


Pain in my neck


Biting my cheeks and tongue


Feeling like my jaw is mismatched and being obsessed with trying to move it back


Clenching non-stop ( I have a night guard that does nothing)


Tongue position feels like my mouth is too small


Had braces when I was young to mask it


Throat feels strained


Ear ‘opens’ when I move my jaw

My left side of my body is higher up than my other but my left side of face is softer idk how that works like my hip is higher and more defined. Here is a picture of that, it looks like I’m standing taller on one leg or leaning to the side but I’m not that’s just my natural body


Note- My sister is getting double jaw for her jaw she has a bad overbite ( they said it’s the worst they’ve seen) and something else and my father had really bad clenching grinding issues. My genetics are soo perfect yay

I’ve been to two orthodontists and one maxillofacial surgeon, and they haven’t done anything. It makes me so frustrated because there is obviously an issue. They acknowledged that there’s a problem, but they don't act on it.


When I got my wisdom teeth removed, the surgeon said if he had more time, he would have helped me fix it which makes me feel even more helpless, knowing I was so close to relief.


I’m going to a new orthodontist in a week, and I’m anxious it won’t help and that I’ll have paid all that money for nothing. However, I don’t want to cancel since it took a month to get this appointment, and I want to be seen as soon as possible.


If anyone has any advice on what to do or who to see, I would be really, greatly appreciative. This issue has severely decreased my quality of life, and I can’t even write this without crying and feeling an overwhelming sense of doom. I don’t expect to look perfect I know there are other issues I just don’t want to keep living with this pain and discomfort.i can physically feel the issue and it’s obvious in real life I was bullied about this throughout my high school and I know it contributes to how people treat me out of it.
Thank you in advance to anyone

 

[#sensitiveyoungwoman]

ngl with all the pain and functional symptoms ur describing, i’d get this properly checked out instead of treating it as just an aesthetic issue. the difficulty opening ur mouth and stuffs r all things worth getting evaluated.
i’d prob see an OMFS or a dentist,ortho who actually specializes in TMJ and skeletal asymmetry. u might need imaging to figure out whether the asymmetry is skeletal, dental, muscular, or a mix of everything idk much sorry. also the hip or shoulder asymmetry doesn’t necessarily mean it’s connected to ur facial asymmetry. it could be posture, pelvic,spinal asymmetry, leg length difference, etc, so i wouldn’t assume they’re all caused by the same thing without getting checked. and plssss don’t keep forcing ur jaw into a certain position if it hurts. u rly wanna figure out what’s causing it rather than just masking it again. hope u find someone who actually takes ur symptoms seriously

 

[myfacehurts66682828]

Thank you so much for

ngl with all the pain and functional symptoms ur describing, i’d get this properly checked out instead of treating it as just an aesthetic issue. the difficulty opening ur mouth and stuffs r all things worth getting evaluated.
i’d prob see an OMFS or a dentist,ortho who actually specializes in TMJ and skeletal asymmetry. u might need imaging to figure out whether the asymmetry is skeletal, dental, muscular, or a mix of everything idk much sorry. also the hip or shoulder asymmetry doesn’t necessarily mean it’s connected to ur facial asymmetry. it could be posture, pelvic,spinal asymmetry, leg length difference, etc, so i wouldn’t assume they’re all caused by the same thing without getting checked. and plssss don’t keep forcing ur jaw into a certain position if it hurts. u rly wanna figure out what’s causing it rather than just masking it again. hope u find someone who actually takes ur symptoms seriously

Hiii, thank you so much for your reply, it really helps me feel validated. I have a regular dentist appointment tomorrow at the same place I get my nightguard, and the dentist who does that is the one who referred me to the ortho. I think I will talk to him again about my issues and concerns with the regular ortho not being able to help me and whether I should cancel it. I'll also look at the ones you suggested in the meantime. And thanks so much for mentioning that the skeletal asymmetry doesn't 100% mean it’s related to my jaw because I think I do have pelvic issues that I need to work on, and it’s easier for my brain to handle when the issues are seen as separate rather than lumped together. I try not to move my jaw into the correct position, but I’m obsessive about it, though I’m doing it less. It’s frustrating because I showed my regular dentist how I think my jaw should be, and he basically confirmed that that's how my jaw should be so that just adds onto it

 

[#sensitiveyoungwoman]

Thank you so much for

Hiii, thank you so much for your reply, it really helps me feel validated. I have a regular dentist appointment tomorrow at the same place I get my nightguard, and the dentist who does that is the one who referred me to the ortho. I think I will talk to him again about my issues and concerns with the regular ortho not being able to help me and whether I should cancel it. I'll also look at the ones you suggested in the meantime. And thanks so much for mentioning that the skeletal asymmetry doesn't 100% mean it’s related to my jaw because I think I do have pelvic issues that I need to work on, and it’s easier for my brain to handle when the issues are seen as separate rather than lumped together. I try not to move my jaw into the correct position, but I’m obsessive about it, though I’m doing it less. It’s frustrating because I showed my regular dentist how I think my jaw should be, and he basically confirmed that that's how my jaw should be so that just adds onto it

yw!! feel free to dm me anytime, i’m really glad to hear you’ve been doing it less, bc i feel like constantly forcing or moving ur jaw like that would only end up causing more pain and make things harder for you.
hopefully you can figure everything out with your dentist tomorrow! honestly, this is the first time i’ve seen a jaw situation like yours.
as for the asymmetry, i’ve dealt with that before too, and it could honestly be more related to your spine or pelvis than your jaw. just take it one thing at a time and keep going