So according to her it's not that bad and all I can do anyway is take it easy on the joint - "if I were an orthopedic surgeon and you came to me with this problem in your knee, I'd say to stay out of any marathons or high jumps." So no chewing of gum, ice cubes, incompletely popped popcorn kernels, pencils, fingernails etc., none of which ever had a big presence in my life.

As to causes, it would either be some past trauma (again, not likely, unless we're talking about the braces) or else "microtraumas" such as from misaligned teeth; but in her view, my bite, while imperfect, is not misaligned in such a way as to be the problem here, and if I got braces, it would help the alignment but not make the jaw issues go away. So um... I guess that makes it a total mystery to her, yet at the same time not interesting enough to order imaging?

As to noninvasive mechanical interventions, she doesn't recommend a night guard unless there's bruxism, because it won't help and it's uncomfortable at night. Meanwhile, the one of mine - that I didn't mention - noticeably helps at least while wearing and is not uncomfortable, merely a bit inconvenient at times. Well, there is some discomfort that I've become more aware of, but that's from the new trigger points it creates and it's less than what's there without it.

As to the wisdom teeth, at my age they're quite done growing so whatever alignment/crowding damage is already done, and there's no harm in leaving them in unless they're infected or otherwise making trouble, but they'd have to come out to make room if going for orthodontics.

Putting aside the prior WTFs for a moment, that much at least makes sense to me. At least the lower left submerged one really doesn't seem to be doing any harm; so now I'm inclined to remove the impacted lower right one plus whichever or both of the erupted upper ones had cavities. Then give it a year and maybe a fresh opinion and re-evaluate on the braces, removing the remaining wisdoms if necessary at that point.

1. It makes sense to treat this problem seriously, the last paragraph about the things you don't know being the ones that hit you hardest may be true, but while you search for potential hidden monsters you have one that you have to tackle that is right front of you.

2. You said you had a list of dental clinics you were going to call but it seems that you have only spoke with one of them. Are you following up with the other ones? One of my big regrets is not getting a second opinion on my carpal tunnel surgery. Insane that I was so negligent, of course I had reasons - no one in my else in my area was available, I would've had to fly somewhere else or wait months and I had to take care of the problem now!

With the follow appointments, I would recommend not poisoning the dentists with a bias and just describe your symptoms and have them take their own photos and come to their own conclusion. The photos and argument you make are convincing, but it would be interesting to see if another dentist reaches the same conclusion on their own.

I sent you a PM with the info of a dentist I trust here.