Five Daily Tips to Help TMJ Pain

July 7, 2022 6:28 pm

Whether smiling, speaking, or singing, you use the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) every day. The TMJ enables you to move your jaw to perform these actions. But when TMJ disorders occur due to an issue within the jaw or muscles, then TMJ pain may be hard to avoid. Here are five daily tips to help with TMJ pain!

1. Jaw Stretching Exercises

Gentle stretching may help relieve pain and strengthen the TMJ. TMJ stretching exercises may increase the mouth opening range to aid in relief or occurrence of pain. Stretching exercises include opening and closing the mouth and making movements with the mouth.

2. Wear a Mouthguard

If your teeth grind or your jaw clenches during sleep, Dr. Palmateer may prescribe a custom mouthguard to help you relax your jaw during the night. A mouthguard can help your jaw stay in one position to avoid clenching and grinding.

3. Reduce Stress Levels

Did you know stress and anxiety have a strong association with TMJ pain? Try to reduce your overall levels to avoid tightening or clenching your jaw muscles. Some ideas to reduce stress is by reducing caffeine intake, journaling, or participating in activities you enjoy!

4. Improve Your Posture

TMJ pain can be caused by improper posture. If you sit or stand for long periods, try to set a reminder to check your posture to maintain balance with your neck and shoulders, which connect to the jawbone.

5. Use Hot & Cold Compress

Part of TMJ pain may be swelling. One way to reduce swelling is rotating between hot and cold compress. Ice can help reduce swelling, and heat can increase blood flow to relax the jaw muscles.

TMJ Therapy in Summerville, SC

Are you experiencing jaw soreness, swelling, or headaches? At Seastone Dental, we offer TMJ/TMD therapy to treat TMJ symptoms. Schedule an appointment with our team to learn if our TMJ/TMD therapy can benefit you!

Categorised in: Oral Health, Preventive Dentistry, TMJ/TMD