Can Tmj Affect the Look of Your Face? Posted: 05-08-05 23:59pm
Hi everyone:
i'm new to this forum, and was diagnosed
as having tmj when I was 13 years old (i'm
25 now). I've tried everything- braces,
splints, mouth guards (i grind my teeth at
night), even putting a piece of tooth
cement on the back of one of my canines to
prevent it from being able to grind at
night. All gave little or no relief.
I am a part-time model so people make a
good living staring at my face. A few
makep artists, photographers and I have
begun to notice that my face is looking
more lop-sided (my mouth guard shows that
I only seem to grind on my right side-that
side of the face looks tighter.) aside
from the grinding and head aches every so
often, this is a big concern for me.
Is this in my head or can I take some
preventive measures from making this
worse? Is there any way to reverse the
process.
Sorry for so many questions on my first
post. Its just nice to see that i'm not
alone in this struggle. Thank you in
advance :)
cathy :)
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Ol1i3x
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 4
Posted: 05-10-05 20:53pm
Hey im not an expert, but according to my
dentist it can. He said that my right eye
is slightly higher than my left (it so
little that u cant notice unless u stare
at my eyes for a minute tho) also my right
side of my face is "collapsing" compared
to my left. Also when I wear glasses the
right side sorta falls down so I guess it
can.
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catjuan
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 2
* Posted: 05-11-05 06:55am
Thank you for the info
would your dentist know if there is anyway
to fix it or prevent it from moving
further. My face feels like it is
collapsing as well. Thank you.
Cathy
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angeliamy
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 8
Posted: 05-16-05 10:40am
Cathy, I didn't develop tmj until I was in
my early 20s from an accident, however
i've had 3 surgeries since this on both
sides of my jaw. My face changed after
all of those surgeries but not so much
that it distorted my looks.
I would highly suggest you see an actual
tmj specialist, an oral surgeon that
specializes in tmj. Be careful with whom
you select, some docs say they know what
they are doing but really don't.
Interview them, check out their
credentials. My first doc really messed
things up, thus 3 surgeries. If you
don't have to have surgery I wouldn't
suggest it but if your jawline is changing
then there is something happening to your
actual bones. I would get it checked
asap! Good luck!
