Hello, 31 y/o female here with major facial shrinking of lower 1/3 of face. I had perfect smile and jaw position after orthodontics which I had from age 10 -16 but it has slowly deteriorated now to the point where it is seriously negatively affecting my life. If you can read through my details below and offer any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
I have photos from 2014 which you'll see below, and my jaw and chin are in normal position. So something happened in the past 5 years to make me age 20 years.
I just had a full exam and dentist said main issue is extreme tongue tie which is likely pulling back my jaw (I have gum recession on the back of the lower front teeth). Other than that, teeth are somewhat ground down and may have some TMJ issues (awaiting eval), but tongue tie is main issue I'm told. A few small caries but no periodontitis or bone loss. I have had no extractions other than 4 wisdom teeth.
My symptoms right now:
-facial shrinking ..jaw/chin recession (R> L)
-Difficulty speaking
-loss of lip support and minimal show of front teeth
-grinding of teeth (L>R)
-jaw clicking on both sides (L>R)
-Unable to stick tongue out past lips, unable to have back of tongue touch roof of mouth at rest
-chronic chapped lips, I'm assuming from nighttime mouth breathing
Photo captions:
Photo A:
on left is my jaw/chin in 2019... on right is my jaw/chin in 2014
showing the recession of jaw and loss of lip support
Photo B:
on left is my jaw/chin in 2014 (same as above)
on right is my jaw/chin in 2019 when I push my lower jaw forward
---This is why i think my jaw is going backwards, as it's pretty much the same position as baseline when I push it forward
-----------------
I am currently seeking help from different doctors. I am hoping to get my jaw/chin back without major surgery. I am looking for the most effective treatment, that is as fast as possible. I am thinking I could use the tongue tie release + FAGGA + myofunctional training but I am open other effective treatments.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks again for reading!
not a specialist but I can't understand how this happened... did you use braces?
PS: in the photos you dont have recessed chin, but I'm couting that you are pushing forward as you said in the second photo.
I don’t understand either. Yes I had a full set of braces and retainer from age about 10-16. I had perfect teeth and jaw for years.
I am only pushing jaw forward in photo B yes, but in the blue background photos that was my natural bite at rest in 2014.... for clarification.
I’m trying to seek specialists but the one I already saw told me I was just aging (that went over really poorly with me) and I’m trying to find specialists who can actually help me, not make me feel worse and tell me what they can’t do.
I am willing to travel wherever it takes to find a competent practitioner who can help me non-surgically. If you know of anyone please share!
when I push my lower jaw forward
Do you normally jut your jaw forward?
No. The blue background pics were me at baseline, That was my natural bite at rest
I only did so in photo B to demonstrate the jaw recession
This looks like bone loss to me. Not to say that your tongue tie isn't involved--it could be. But other issues to consider are your nutrient uptake, your hormone levels, whether you eat a lot of nutrient dense foods that don't require you to chew, like protein shakes and smoothies, if you bolt your food, if you have any gut conditions that are preventing nutrient absorption, thyroid disorders, chronic inflammatory diseases that are common and often undiagnosed in young women like Lupus, chronic Lyme, or Hashimoto's disease...
Bone loss can occur in young women, and it's not always because of periodontitis or ageing, although those are the most common things people think of. A lot of health conditions can create the same effect. Thin white women are at highest risk of early bone loss, and it looks like you are in that demographic. When the bones of the whole face atrophy in the absence of gum disease, the upper arch has a particular look: the gums are healthy, but the gums above the teeth are noticeably narrower than the teeth themselves, giving a downward-and-outward flare appearance to the teeth. How would you feel about sharing a photo of your dental arch?
I do have some health issues which I am working on. From your description I can’t tell if my gums to teeth ratio are as you describe. Do you have any advice if you think bone loss is the case? Is there anything to do for it other than surgery?
I don't see the shape that I'm thinking of--but that wouldn't have been diagnostic in any case, and I'm not a professional. Your gum health looks fantastic, by the way.
I wouldn't consider surgery at all, to be honest, at least for now. I would begin by: figure out your health issues (especially if they have to do with gut and/or inflammation) get your tongue tie resolved including myofunctional therapy, and look at nutritional and exercise strategies to build bone density; strontium, Vitamin D+K, drynaria, and weight bearing exercise. In the case of facial bones, that means lots of firm chewy foods and maybe hard gum.
Currently starting the root cause protocol. Have appointments to get tongue tie released.
Thanks for your input, this has been incredibly stressful to not recognize myself anymore, so I appreciate all the help I can get. I’m just looking forward to putting it behind me and learning from it.
Good luck!
One thing that might help you feel better in the mean time, is facial exercises/face yoga. It's great for adding volume to the face. I started working on exercises for marionette lines and shortening the philtrum, and my upper lip is noticeably fuller and more prominent. My jowls reduced in about a week, and I probably spend a total of 5 minutes a day working on it.
My favorite teacher is Koko Hayashi. Her videos are pretty short and to the point, and she includes a lot of hands-free exercises that can be done while driving. Peta of Facerobics is also good, but her exercises tend to require hands on the face. I just did a quick search and saw that Koko has a number of videos on the chin, jaw and jowl. Even if you don't have the wrinkle patterns mentioned, building muscle in the area might help fill out the area and make it look more like you're used to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaJttQbxNaI
Skull and Jaw Correction
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