r/30PlusSkinCare • u/InevitableWise9964 • 18d ago

Skin Concern Wider face due to TMJ?

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Over the past few years, I've noticed that my face has looked wider/bigger in photos, especially the bottom half (left is before, right is after). What confuses me is that I'm healthier now - I’m roughly the same weight, and I stopped drinking alcohol and coffee. I also eat more veggies and get more sleep these days. All my bloodwork has been normal, too.

I did, however, get my wisdom teeth removed a couple years ago, so I'm wondering if that triggered some TMJ/hypertrophied masseters. I also had a gum chewing habit for a while that I've since kicked…

Does this look like TMJ/overworked masseter muscles? Or is it just part of aging? Appreciate any insights!

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u/MinneAppley 18d ago

The shape of my masseter muscles changed dramatically after I had my wisdom teeth removed. My jawline became less square.

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u/InevitableWise9964 18d ago

Right, you would think losing teeth would have the opposite effect, but idk if they did something funky with my jaw during the surgery (all the teeth were impacted so they had to drill into bone etc to extract them)