reason for my facial asymmetry? pictures included

[olivejuice888]

long story short...i live in remote Alaska and cannot make it to the big city to see a maxillofacial doc til my work season is over in December but I'm attempting to atleast do a bit of research before I see him so i can be prepared with questions.

i had braces and whatnot as a teenager but was always very poor about following my orthodontists instructions.  he also told me i would need jaw surgery which was financially not in the cards for my family so now in adulthood (i'm 30) i actually AM very serious about improving my asymmetrical face and will do whatever is necessary. 

my teeth are nicely aligned and when i smile i can consciously pull my lower lip up to lessen the severity of my lopsided smile, but for the below pictures i will smile as my face would be if i were not trying to hide the hideousness 

Note:  midline is offcenter, chin is offcenter, chin is perhaps oversized?? however my profile doesnt suggest my chin is huge??
Any ideas what my condition is and what needs to be done to my jaw(s) ?

THANK YOU!!!!!

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[molestrip]

Relative to the maxilla, the mandible is not significantly deviated. The maxilla is deviated quite a bit to one side so put together, your chin looks quite offcenter. X-ray imaging would be better and your images may not be good but it looks to me like one side of your face is bigger than the other. It's looking like a mild case of hemifacial microsomia. The condyles would be of uneven length. That's not an easy problem to correct, you'd want someone with a lot of experience. Even the best examples I've seen won't make you perfect. You'd have to decide whether the pain, risks, and cost are worth what might be a minor improvement.

Midline deviations are common. A handsome ER doc friend of mine has one like that but his chin isn't so off center. Maybe you could get away with braces to center the teeth and a genioplasty to center the chin, avoiding most of the risks. You'd be left with the asymmetric jawline but it'd be a decent compromise.

[jesterofmalice]

Could the lopsided smile be a Neurologic issue? Is the asymmetry only noticeable when you smile? YOu have a normal frontal resting face pic?
You have a gorgeous profile. Not sure i'd risk invasive surgery. Never seems a good idea for good looking people!
Still, best to see what the experts say, I guess.
Good luck

[molestrip]

I should have noticed that before, sorry. Your crooked smile totally gives the illusion that your chin is more off center than it really is I think. You do have deviations as I mentioned but it's not significant I think. See if your surgeon can measure them for you in appropriate poses. From what we can see, you appear to be attractive. Ideally, we'd all judge ourselves by how people respond to us. That is, if you can pick up most guys and people respect you then you shouldn't care what you look like. Surgery sucks, don't do it unless you have to. I was just talking to my brother today about the s**t that happens in the OR but, well, I need surgery.

[baldguy83]

I would like to see a picture from the front, with your lips closed?

Going by the current pictures I would definitely not recommend invasive jaw surgery. You seem to be very attractive already, with a lovely profile.

[buzzhead]

it appears to me that your lip or face tissue is not moving up upon smiling the same as the other side.  Could it be more of a facial muscle issue?