hello, i am a girl in hs and for about 2-3 years now, i have had symptoms associated with tmj. my mouth doesn't open fully, it only opens about 3-4 inches. my jaws would hurt if i chew a lot of hard/taffy like stuff. and sometimes i get lockjaws typically in the morning.
recently though, (about 6months ago) i've noticed my upper jaw has been shifting to the front, not allowing my upper teeth to meet my bottom. it is shifting everyday, now my upper set of teeth or jaw wont meet with my bottom set of teeth. it has a big big gap which if i close my mouth, i can squeeze out my tongue through the gap about 1cm-2cm or so. (so gross/scary) this has caused me to develope a nasty lisp, which i didnt realize at first, my peers told me about it.
I NEVER had a lisp and my upper set or teeth and bottom set ALWAYS matched. i dont know whats happeneing, what can i do in this situation? and my jaw is moving around everyday, relocating it self on my face! my face shape even changed a bit!
ive talked to my dentist about it, but they assigned me to a specialist and i wont see him for another 4-5 months.
and would they give me braces? or surgery? because its pretty serious tmj. AHHH

please, help me out i am so scared.
thanks alot

in case you haven't been told TMJ is a form of arthritis. it can affect any part of your body. it is known as the great deceiver. while you wait for the specialist go to walmart, in the pharmacy dept and get the apparatus that will help you to quit grinding your teeth at night. Stay away from hard foods. it may help to put heat on the side of your jaw (helps mine) try to avoid stress. Look up TMJ on the internet to learn more about it. TMJ stands for Temporal Mandibular Joint. and it is a pain.
Don't be afraid. Evey thing will be ok.

I have one tooth slanted in pretty far towards the inside of my mouth and a very, very small crossbite.

Yes braces can fix that. go to your dentist office, and see if he or she recomends them, in that case they would give you a refferal to the orthodontist.
Hope I could help!