hi there,
I've been lurking on here for a while now, and just actually registered today and decided to post my issue.
here's my story:
I'm currently 36. When I was 11, I had a bridge put on my top right back 2 molars to prevent the last molar from growing any further while the bottom molar erupted. It was suppose to be on for about 1 year...but for some unknown reason it was not removed for 5 years.
I believe that is where my jaw issues started. In my mid teens, my tmj started...with bad clicking almost any time I open/close my mouth, especially while chewing. Lots of headaches through my life since then.
Once I turned 25/26 I noticed that my teeth were slanted. I ignored this at the time, but it was always there on my mind. Once I turned 32ish, I noticed it was getting worse, and that it was actually my jaw that was slanted, as opposed to my teeth. I have always been conscious of it and hide my smile. I finally have gotten help with my tmj, as it has progressed and now locks a lot, especially in the morning for about 15 minutes. I get nasty temporal headaches, and my face feels fatigued. I do have a night guard (that has been altered thinking it was making things worse, but it's not). I am a clencher. As you can see in my pics, my right cheeck joing (not sure what it's called) is way bigger then the left. The cant appears to be about 3mm. My jaw is getting worse...my tmj is getting worse.
I have recently been to the dental surgeon who has said that my jaw is canted and suggested 2 options:
1. double jaw surgery
2. bandaid camoflouge with crowns/veneers
He said that if I go with the camoflouge option, the cant may get worse and I'll need the surgery any way in a few years.
Since he gave me those options, I have been able to think of nothing else. I feel in my heart that I want to just get it fixed with the surgery. I'm not really a young pup any more, and think that if I wait for 10 years the recovery will be more difficult. The price for the veneers/crowns will be the same as the surgery process (about $5000 for combo veneers/crowns), ($1500 for surgeon/ $3000 for braces), (surgery is covered in Ontario by ohip).
I just don't know what to do. I'm really at a loss. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
