Please help! Droopy right side facial muscles.
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

Wed May 29, 2013 3:56 pm

Hello everyone,

Over the past several years, the situation that I am about to describe has gotten worse, causing me immense mental and emotional distress. So I am here to discuss it and gather as much input or advice that any of you will be so kind to offer.

You see, when I was 10 (now 29) a very incompetent dentist removed my right canine tooth instead of giving me braces. In recent years I have learned that our left and right canine teeth are the foundations for the rest of our teeth and keep everything in place. As a result of having the right side canine tooth extracted, the rest of my teeth began to slowly shift and I was left with a bad bite that was very weak on the right side. While I have gotten braces 5 years ago to correct my bite, the thing that wasn't corrected was my facial symmetry. Since I had a very weak bite on the right side for so many years, that side of my face lacks a lot of muscle tone. Everything on that side basically droops! My eyebrow, eyelid, nostril, corner of mouth, and the jawline has no definition.

When I look in the mirror, the asymmetry is not very noticeable, however in pictures it is very very obvious. I have learned that looking in the mirror is somewhat of an optical illusion since we are only viewing a mirror image of ourselves.

For this reason I absolutely despise having my pictures taken! and my self esteem has basically become so low that I cannot even have a normal conversation with someone who is looking directly at me for fear that they will see my droopy, asymmetrical face.
I look at pictures from my childhood and see how perfectly symmetrical my face was and it really really saddens me that my face has now lost that symmetry.

I have tried various facial exercises to try and balance my facial muscles but have continuously failed to see results. I even purchased the FlexAway and Facial Flex devices and those only caused bulkiness in the lower part of my face, rather than balancing the muscles.
I want try everything possible before I resort to corrective surgery.

Any input or advice will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
A

free skin care · Thu May 30, 2013 11:55 am

Hi Aria_amour,

Welcome to the forum!

Interesting, i have exactly the same problem, but i never though of connecting it to my tooth extraction.
I was always blaming for this my bad sleeping habits and sun damage.

By the way, sorry to bring you the bad news, but in my 40s i do see it in the mirror now.

The good news - NO ONE CARES !!!

So cheer up! The rest of the world is pretty much pre-occupied worrying about themselves Smile

)

That doesn't mean, of course, we shouldn't try to improve it. All i am saying - don't let it ruin your life.

Trywww.shapeyourface.com - if you can learn all Tom's exercises, it should address the issue. And it won't take more than 5-7 minutes of your time.
Unfortunately, i just can't pass exercise #5 challenge. But you are much younger and should get it with no problems.

The next one is Tanaka massage.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrceQS7qdaI

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syxMAETLjFk

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrMBOBlQXNs

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr-7cUXy80A

View all parts just to understand the process and get the tips.

The actual massage will take not more than 3 to 5 minutes and at your stage probably will remove sagging for the whole day.

I hope this helps

Thu May 30, 2013 12:52 pm

Hi VB,

Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and advice Smile

I actually contacted Mr. Tom Hagerty from ShapeYourFace just yesterday and got some positive feedback this afternoon. I wasn't expecting to hear back from him so soon but he seems like a very kind and caring individual. He thinks the asymmetry might be bone related rather than muscle tone loss, but would first like to see pictures of my face and side profile to make a further assessment.

I'm certainly no expert, but I once saw an x-ray of my face at my orthodontists office and the structure of my face looked pretty symmetrical. So I'm really hoping that the problem only lies with muscle tone and could be fixed through some exercises.

I was not familiar with the Tanaka massage system but it looks fantastic! Thank you so much for pointing me in that direction. I can't wait to try it out.

A

free skin care · Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:48 am

Hello
I don't know if this would be appropriate for you, but there is a device called a myomunchee-I had one in solidarity with my son who had an open bite, it takes a while to get used to at night. Perhaps if you contact the dentist who designed it he may be able to advise you.
I think I first heard about it via Green for Life, about smoothies, where Victoria was concerned that she wasn't chewing as much
http://www.teethperfect.com/

free skin care · Sun Jun 16, 2013 5:49 pm

Hi Aria. So v sorry to hear of your dilemma. What in the WORLD was he thinking removing the canines?????

Could you explore physiotherapy sessions for restoring the function to your face? I would try that. Therapists who work with post-stroke patients would be knowledgable in facial anatomy.

As the OP says tho, probably no one even notices, but still, if it bothers you, thats reason enough to do something. Good luck!

Sat Jun 22, 2013 5:37 pm

I wish I had some advice to offer you...I clicked on your post due to what I suspect is a similar problem. My dentist filed down my bite on one side, supposedly to help with a tooth grinding problem (which I didn't even know I had!). Ever since then I can see and feel the muscles on that side weakening, volume diminishing and things drooping. It's been about two years now and I firmly believe that's the cause of most of my sag related aging on that side.

And like you I can really tell in pictures. I look so different now. I can see the asymmetry in the mirror but nothing like I can in pictures. So there are no pictures of me anymore!

I've since read I should never have let the dentist correct my bite this way. Big mistake. I'm amazed at the impact it's had on the rest of my face but I suppose I shouldn't be. I'm sorry to read your post but I can relate!

Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:38 pm

OMG -- I CANNOT believe I came across this thread!!! I have been Googling this issue literally for YEARS, more than a decade at least, and never came across this until now!!! Many times I have looked up 'facial asymmetry impacted canine' and because your issue wasn't from an impaction, this thread never came up. I ALSO have the exact same problem, although instead of the right canine being removed, my right canine is impacted, with a baby tooth still in place. I just turned 40 this year, and overtime, the asymmetry in my face has become very pronounced, especially in photographs or selfies. I literally cannot take a selfie or be photographed from the front without seeing quite a bit of crookedness in my face. This effects my profession, because as a singer, I am constantly being video taped and photographed, and as performers we are encouraged to take selfies for our work! A little background: the impacted tooth was 'discovered' when I was 18, and that time would have require surgery and/or braces, and I had begun modeling at the time and didn't think I could go through orthodontic treatment then. Fast forward more than twenty years, and the result is now that the right side of my face droops much more than my left, I don't have cheekbone definition on that side, the corner of my mouth droops, and so does me eye. I have had an MRI which ruled out stroke or MS, and been tested for Lyme disease. Helpful have been chiropractic treatments and facial exercises, but it has never resolved the facial asymmetry completely. This situations drives me absolutely crazy as I can literally feel the right side of my face sagging, or 'falling off' and it effects my facial expressions (like I have to 'think' about raising my cheek and lips on that side), and deeply effects my self esteem...when I let it. I too feel the asymmetry is caused my a weakness in my bite on that side, as my teeth do not fit together well at all. It is true that it is an outside preoccupation, but if there were any way to fix it, I would be so forever eternally grateful! I have FINALLY been to see an orthodontist who said that he could try and guide the impacted tooth into place with a chain lassoed to braces. Whilst I was wasn't looking forward to braces at 40, I was SO excited to see if it helped improve my facial muscle tone on the right side. (A few dentists and oral surgeons wanted to extract the impacted tooth and put in an implant, but that may have damaged my other front teeth; others wanted to do a bridge, but I intuitively knew that was not going to fix the symmetry problem if my bite was still off. The best solution seems to be braces and trying tho restore the normal functioning and alignment of my teeth and jaw). Some other things I want to try are visiting a facial nerve specialist to see if anything is actually wrong with the facial nerve itself, St. John Method (jaw massage), also Facial Development dot com, the Homeblock System - there are some amazing before and after photos there. And also Claiming Power dot com was recommended by a girl online who reshaped her face. I will also look into Tanaka massage, Shape Your Face, and teeth perfect dot com. I have tried face yoga and that helps, but the results are not permanent. I was scheduled for braces this year, but postponed yet again (ugh!) due to work related reasons (I will be traveling a lot this year). I am hoping a window opens SOON so I can get started on treatment, as it has really is a long time coming. THANK YOU Aria_amour for posting about this specific issue -- there must be other's of us on planet Earth! I wish I could post photos here for you all to see! Thank you everyone for caring, reading and posting! I will keep you all updated on my progress.

free skin care · Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:48 am

MimiLee

Hiiii, you just don't know how much I am glad to see someone on here is a huge fan of Claiming Power dot com. I am not a member but I do have them send newsletters weekly to my email because I am dealing with the same thing. I want to make an appointment with the dentist myself but due to schedule in school, I have not gotten around to it. I really want to straighten out my teeth. I am naturally born with a small palate and that alone shifts my facial symmetry in all kinds of directions. I did have braces before and I had to first get a palate expander which according to claiming power dot com is one of the best options to start balancing your facial muscles. have you heard of Orofacial Myology Exercise? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDsMCvDN5Q
I have tried numerous things too and when I came across claiming power dot com, I started to put two and two together and that my imbalance in my face is deeper than facial exercises. please keep me posted Smile

I have recently been dx with mild GERD and hope that my insurance can cover some of my teeth issues.

Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:55 pm

Hi Tasha!

So great to start a dialogue here, due to time constraints, I haven't been able to make fixing my bite a top priority YET, but I am hoping to soon. It seems my facial asymmetry is not entirely caused by the impacted canine, but it is contributing to it. For some reason coffee (but not specifically caffeine or tea), make the facial nerve and muscular difference on my right side worse? I am not entirely sure why this is the case, but coffee seems to contribute to some of the sagginess or numbness, and the feeling of asymmetry at least. Confused

Also, my upper palate is slightly canted, slanted downward toward the right. I am not sure if this is the impacted canine, or something else, as I have seen others with this problem, without an impacted canine. So they may actually be separate issues that can also be corrected by braces and or therapy or jaw surgery or whatever. I now have a number of a myofunctional therapist in the Los Angeles area (where I live) who deals with the muscles of the face. Her name is Joy Moeller and her web site is www dot myofunctional-therapy dot com (sorry, this comment window will not let me post web sites for some reason). I do not have an appointment yet, or braces on my teeth, but I'll be sure to take before and after photos. Very Happy

Sun Aug 02, 2015 4:44 pm

I have been hesitant to write about this, because I was unsure of my outcome. The Claiming Power website has had a profound effect on my face.

In previous posts I have talked about my weak side. I realized in my late teens that my face shape changed, but as I got older one jaw was quite a bit longer than the other, and the cheek on that short side has been weak. I never considered that having braces in junior high could have contributed to that. From Claiming Power I read articles, found Dr. Mike Mew and watched several of his videos on a trip mid July. Once I put my tongue on the roof of my mouth, and kept my lips closed and teeth touching, my face started to come back into balance and that weak cheek is now more forward and balanced in my face. And I just turned 60. It made a change in a 60 year old face. I find that remarkable. I don’t even have to spend the extra time on it with my Pico toner probes. I treat both sides the same now.

Dr. Mew’s premise is that keeping pressure with the tongue muscle will eventually cause the cheek bones (maxilla) to grow forward rather than the face elongating. I don’t think that has happened with me yet, but I do see a change. The pictures in his videos tell the story. This also keeps your jaw muscle up and back, like Loulou describes in Ageless. She talks about facial posturing, so I’m wondering if this is part of her secret to her great cheeks.

I can tell it is doing something, because is it getting harder to maintain. That’s because I’ve made more room in the roof of my mouth, so I have to really remember to keep that back third up there. So I ask myself, isn’t it a little weird to walk around with your tongue completely raised up like that? Well, yes. But I make considerable effort to have really good sitting and standing posture. This is just another element. Again, look at the pictures in Dr. Mew’s videos. It would be worth it. Sometimes I just put it up there (Dr. John Mew says make an “N”) and sometimes I sort of suck it up pretty snugly. Depends on what I’m doing at the time. I just have to remember to relax my face at the same time.
I have another, closer example. Many people think my oldest daughter and I look alike. I wish I did look like her. She is much more striking because she has a broader face and square jawline. Those are the marks of beauty Dr. Mew described. So now maybe I can bring my face back into more of that balance.

I could wish I had known about this 40 years ago. There are so many crazy looking pictures I wish I could go back and change. At least around the age of 40 I realized I should always stand to the left in pictures, so that my “good” side showed. I am just content now to know I can add another tool to my kit for trying to continue to look good as I age.

Be aware that this is not a panacea. I can see that the skin around my mouth looks a little saggier, and maybe a little heavier. But I realize there has been a change in my bone structure, and it may take some time for my skin to adjust. Here is something that makes it worth pursuing. I was wondering if my Deminator had helped improve the firmness in my neck. It occurred to me today that pressing my tongue up is likely helping firm it.

By the way, Dr. Mew is a little different looking, and it scared me at first. But I think he may just be entirely too thin, and it makes his face look drawn.

free skin care · Sun Aug 16, 2015 11:27 pm

im going to dentist tomorrow so we will see

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:19 am

went to dentist and ortho suggest I get jaw surgery after braces. so I am in the beginner stage. first I am taking care of general dental things . will keep posted. thanks

Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:02 am

OK so I had my wisdom teeth pulled at 28 and 29. At age 30 I had a small heart attack and they dont know why. I am healthy and fit!!

My left side of my face sags from my eye lids down to under my chin!

I have been depressed for years about it and all I do is research why did this happen. I thought it was from the heart attack??

could it be because I had my wisdom teeth pulled?

I hate pictures now than ever before because I can see it right away. Its embarrasing and I can really see it when its that time of the month too.

I've been dermarolling hoping that that would help but I think its much deeper than just the skin. It must be my muscle that is sagging too.

But anywys IT REALLY BOTHERS ME EVERYDAY Sad

Its like I have OCD about it and I don't want to stop researching until I fix my face to look normal again.

I am now trying exercises and the tanaka massage. And yep more and more research.

If anyone else has an ideas please feel free to let us know.

Thanks so much and I love these forums!!!

free skin care · Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:54 pm

Grammalow wrote:

I have been hesitant to write about this, because I was unsure of my outcome. The Claiming Power website has had a profound effect on my face.

In previous posts I have talked about my weak side. I realized in my late teens that my face shape changed, but as I got older one jaw was quite a bit longer than the other, and the cheek on that short side has been weak. I never considered that having braces in junior high could have contributed to that. From Claiming Power I read articles, found Dr. Mike Mew and watched several of his videos on a trip mid July. Once I put my tongue on the roof of my mouth, and kept my lips closed and teeth touching, my face started to come back into balance and that weak cheek is now more forward and balanced in my face. And I just turned 60. It made a change in a 60 year old face. I find that remarkable. I don’t even have to spend the extra time on it with my Pico toner probes. I treat both sides the same now.

Dr. Mew’s premise is that keeping pressure with the tongue muscle will eventually cause the cheek bones (maxilla) to grow forward rather than the face elongating. I don’t think that has happened with me yet, but I do see a change. The pictures in his videos tell the story. This also keeps your jaw muscle up and back, like Loulou describes in Ageless. She talks about facial posturing, so I’m wondering if this is part of her secret to her great cheeks.

I can tell it is doing something, because is it getting harder to maintain. That’s because I’ve made more room in the roof of my mouth, so I have to really remember to keep that back third up there. So I ask myself, isn’t it a little weird to walk around with your tongue completely raised up like that? Well, yes. But I make considerable effort to have really good sitting and standing posture. This is just another element. Again, look at the pictures in Dr. Mew’s videos. It would be worth it. Sometimes I just put it up there (Dr. John Mew says make an “N”) and sometimes I sort of suck it up pretty snugly. Depends on what I’m doing at the time. I just have to remember to relax my face at the same time.
I have another, closer example. Many people think my oldest daughter and I look alike. I wish I did look like her. She is much more striking because she has a broader face and square jawline. Those are the marks of beauty Dr. Mew described. So now maybe I can bring my face back into more of that balance.

I could wish I had known about this 40 years ago. There are so many crazy looking pictures I wish I could go back and change. At least around the age of 40 I realized I should always stand to the left in pictures, so that my “good” side showed. I am just content now to know I can add another tool to my kit for trying to continue to look good as I age.

Be aware that this is not a panacea. I can see that the skin around my mouth looks a little saggier, and maybe a little heavier. But I realize there has been a change in my bone structure, and it may take some time for my skin to adjust. Here is something that makes it worth pursuing. I was wondering if my Deminator had helped improve the firmness in my neck. It occurred to me today that pressing my tongue up is likely helping firm it.

By the way, Dr. Mew is a little different looking, and it scared me at first. But I think he may just be entirely too thin, and it makes his face look drawn.

Hi Grammalow, thanks for an extremely interesting read.
Could you let us know how long you've been doing the tongue to the roof of the mouth, and how long it took before you started noticing positive changes please?

Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:58 am

It's incredible to find we have the same problem.
I had my canine and 3 other teeth pulled out at age 14 simply because my teeth overlapped and I was given braces which altered my bite. I can't tell you the sorrow I feel when I look in the mirror. I've had consultations with top dentists and the best advice I've had is to ignore it and get on with my life, but the asymmetry is noticeably worse with age. I'll look up Dr Mike Mew. Keep me in the loop if anyone finds a real solution. I guess it might be too late for me by the time stem cell tooth implants become available.

Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:01 pm

Hi everyone!
I've been researching this subject recently due the right side of mouth, nose, etc... drooping immediately after having my right canine extracted due an abscess. I've noticed it's slowly getting progressively worse and is causing air flow to be obstructed in my right nostril.
I've been advised to go see an ENT. Has anyone here seen an ENT for this problem? I don't have insurance therefore I don't want to waste time/money going to someone that cannot help.
Any advice and/or information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Manda

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.