TMJ Issues. Will I need surgery? Help please.

[pleasehelpme]

For months I knew I had TMJ but never knew how serious it was. The events that unfolded lead me to believe I've been living with disc displacement without reduction (DDwoR) for years.

It all started with when I was eating one day, I had recently watched a video saying that chewing 50/50 balanced on both sides could eventually solve a lot of asymmetry issues, so I had been chewing like that for the past few days. At some point while chewing, I start to feel my jaw start to tighten/lock up, I knew it had something to do with me chewing on both sides because normally I'd just use one, I kept chewing anyways, until eventually I heard and felt this pop in my mouth/head, followed by a feeling of air (?) coming through my eye socket when I breathed. After that sensation Immediately checked in the mirror and saw that the right side of my face had shifted back. This is where I think my disc slipped back into place. I noticed my eye position had changed. My breathing felt different, my midface changed. Even my hairline area changed due to my forehead shifting when i believe the disc moved. My face looked closer to how it did when I was 15-16 (I'm 20M now) before my disc had displaced.

Anyway the night that the slip happens, I'm panicking because ever since the slip/pop my right eye has been feeling puffy/kind of blurrying, i feel lightheaded, and the right side of my face felt sensitive to touch. So I went to the ER that night, told them what happened and they ran a CT scan where they say they found no abnormalities and sent me home. For the next 4 days I'm at home dealing with some nerve stinging in my feet and hands. My temporalis and masseter always felt tense on my face. And I felt my jaw move around by itself trying to allign a bite, and my vision has definitely changed, not that its blurry but I can physically feel/see the difference in how I see due to my eye placement being different. I think of it all as no big deal and think it will eventually go away.

Fast forward to last night, and I go outside to smoke (marijuana) for the first time in a week or so. I hadn't since the slip happened. I don't know if it's a pulling motion I do when I smoke, but when I came back inside, I felt the right side of my face shifting again. This time, how my face looked when the disc was displaced was back. This look is like my entire right side looks bigger/sits higher and more forward grown while my left side sits back, looking and feeling like it is a completely seperate face. Also I can't really move my right eyebrow on it's own. At this point I kind of feel helpless, because I know it isn't supposed to be changing this much, and whatever is slipping is probably damaged. The entire right side of my teeth look way more shaved down than the left side, So I know the bruxism and teeth grinding has been a problem on that side for years. Again, I never knew about disc displacements until that incient happened, If i did I would've got help long ago.

So, lastly, I'd just like to know how to proceed. Ever since my disc came forward again, I haven't been dealing with breathing issues, Temporalis or masseter pain as much, which I heard was common, but at the same time I don't want to be eating randomly and my disc slips back again, it was kind of traumatic the first time it happened. What's the best course of action for me? For about a year now I've been thinking about braces, but after reading a bit in this sub I think it's best I treat the TMJ first? I need an MRI of my TMJs i know, does anybody know what other MRIs or check-ups I need to make, which treatments? Would I possibly need surgery for this? Help me please.

I've attached photos of my bite and before and after of my disc changes/how eyes look.

 

[Rabscuttle]

We aren’t doctors so we can’t really give complete medical advice.

That said I’m going to give some anyways and if it’s an issue so be it.

You have ginigtivis, possibly periodontal disease. You have clear gum recession and a shit ton of tartar. You need to get a deep cleaning done of your teeth at your regular dentist and start taking care of your teeth. Do not get braces to fix your bite or your jaw or whatever. All that’s going to happen is your going to fuck up your teeth with periodontal disease, develop good habits now. If you have a dental school or a dental hygiene school near you go to them, it will be more thorough and cheaper and you’ll get an unbiased opinion that isn’t rooted in trying to nickel and dime you, if you don’t then just go to your regular dentist asap.

On to TMS stuff

I dealt with TMj on and off from 20ish till now (am 32) although I consider myself recovered, although occasionally still deal with tension. I would have micro dislocations, left jaw with pop out of the socket from eating, grinding my teeth, kissing (lmao that was fun) or getting hit in the head during martial arts. Probably had 20 or so of these dislocations, they’d pop back in after 5-10 seconds. My joint would be inflamed, and I’d be in pain for a few days until things settled and I’d move on. I wasn’t in full fight or flight or obsession mode so it never became life altering. Fast forward to 2025 and anlready dealing with debilitating other chronic pain and I fell asleep on my fist and had a significant dislocation this time, where it was out for 30-60ish seconds. Genuine constant severe pain couldn’t open my mouth more than a finger width. That led to nearly a year and a half of 24/7 facial pain. My bite absolutely shifted, I would look back at old selfies and see things were now more crooked. I’d obsessively stare in the mirror how my teeth wouldn’t line up, feel the oddness in my bite, feel the muscle tension, slide my jaw back and forth to feel the resistance that I thought meant my jaw was fucked. Considered killing myself several times, was close once.

I’m much better now.

What is your TMS knowledge like, because it sounds like you’re chasing after physical treatments. With TMj less is often more. I’ll be honest, yours is probably a little more severe than mine, at least with the crookedness in the tooth picture. Does that mean you’re fucked? I don’t think so. But you need to decide whether you’re willing to give this work a real shot or not. That means focusing on your inner world and addressing your inner dysfunction. Stop taking pictures of yourself and examining how physically off you are. Find faith that your body can heal and adapt and adjust. Your joints absolutely can stabilize, but if you’re obsessing you’re not giving your body a chance to heal. I have clear muscle wasting on my left side still, although it’s better, it’s the result of avoiding chewing on that area and constant tension. You need to address the fear. You may need an mri for reassurance or for a definitive diagnosis, but there are people who get facial mris who have totally fucked joints which are found incidentallly- they have no pain, and simultaneously there are people with pristine joints and are in life altering pain.

Don’t jump to physical treatments. Start actually taking care of yourself, body and mind, look after your teeth, treat yourself well. The truth is you’ve been obsessing over this area for a long time so even if you got some magic treatment, do you really think it would be your solution? Or would your obsession override any potential help?

The structured educational program on this site is a good place to start.

Also the ct scan was good per the ER doctors so that’s good. I had a 3d X-ray done and it was really clear my left joint is super off. I had to delete those images from my iPad because they depressed the fuck out of me. Deleted all my old selfies and all that. Delete all that you need to delete so you can give this work a chance.

Also start meditating, helped a lot with me with the tension and grinding.