The Facts

Guess I'll start this post by boring you with the facts. Condylar resorption is a rare condition that affects the jaw joints and most commonly starts in adolescence. This is a poorly understood disease process that occurs with a 9:1 female-to-male frequency ratio and rarely develops after the age of 20 years old. They don't fully understand why this happens but I have read and was told that auto-immune diseases are the main contributor, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Also, participating in sports activities which, through minor or major trauma to the jaws, can initiate or make the condition worse. It has also been linked to very high estrogen levels but there is no definitive answer on how or why I have been diagnosed with this. The disease causes the head of the temporomandibular joint to degenerate till there is no joint left in one or both jaw joints in my case and causes headaches, ear pain, and the lower jaw to shift back blocking my airway and making it very difficult to bite down and chew.

This is my horrible profile now. I can't wait to see it after surgery

The oral surgeon that I saw referred me to see Dr. Larry Wolford in Dallas, Texas at Baylor Medical Center. He is one of the very few surgeons in the United States to do this type of surgery and is also within driving distance from us. He has been doing this particular surgery for more years than I am old and have seen so many people with wonderful results that I feel so comforted knowing that I am in good hands.