How Do I Manage Jaw System Dysfunction?
Awareness of Habits or Jaw Use Patterns
The teeth are supposed to make contact during eating and swallowing, but at no other time. When the jaw is not working during eating, swallowing, yawning and talking, the teeth should be apart and the jaw should be at rest. Notice any contact your teeth make. Notice any clenching, grinding, gritting, tapping of teeth or tensing of jaw muscles.
Notice when these tooth contacts or the jaw muscle tensing most often occurs, such as during driving, studying, reading, social situations, conversation, fatigue, overwork, stress, emotional upsets, work, sports.
Positioning of the Jaw to Avoid Tooth Contacting Habits
Place the tip of the tongue just behind the top front teeth and keep the teeth slightly apart. Maintain this position whenever the jaw is not being used.
Diet Modifications
Softer foods place less stress on the jaw muscles and joints than coarser foods. Avoid eating coarse, hard foods that requires you to bite into them with the front teeth, such as apples or sandwiches. Cut these foods up into small pieces and eat them on the back teeth. Don’t chew gum or soft chewy foods that require excessive jaw movements.
Avoid Wide Jaw Opening
Excessive movements of the jaw will place stress on the joints and muscles.
Do Not Test the Jaw
You may want to periodically move your jaw around to check whether you are making progress and see if the soreness is resolving. To do this, people usually open and swing the jaw from side to side beyond the comfortable range of motion. When you move your jaw to the point where you produce pain and discomfort, you have added to the stress on your muscles and joints and this can cause continuation of the problems you are trying to eliminate.
Sleep Patterns
Avoid sleeping on your stomach, which places the jaw in a position where considerable pressure is place upon it. Propping pillows beside you may be helpful in avoiding unconsciously moving onto your stomach. This can be a difficult pattern to break. Avoid sleeping patterns where the jaw is rested upon a hand or arm, which also applies considerable pressure to the jaw.
Support the jaw during yawning:
Place your index finger and thumb on our chin to provide some extra stability to the lower jaw during yawning.
Additional strategies:
Avoid leaning on your chin or jaw at any time. This even applies to posturing your head to press a telephone against your shoulder. There can be an infinite number of factors contributing to a jaw dysfunction. It is easily possible that this guide has overlooked a factor that is important in your problem. Please advise us of anything that you think may be contributing. Your input is important. Moist heat applied to the area of discomfort twice a day for ten-minute intervals is helpful. Keep rested and maintain good nutrition, whilst trying to avoid additional stressful commitments that may adversely affect your present condition. A mild analgesic such as ibuprofen (Advil) can be of value during recurrences of pain. These should not be used if you have previously experienced reactions to these drugs or if your physician has advised you against taking them.
© Dr. Garry Lunn