In

grams

Dental Practice

Exercises to improve the Function of the Temporomandibular joint

The purpose of the exercise is to prevent clicking of the jaw and to strengthen the muscles which pull your jaw backwards. It will relax the muscles which pull your jaw forwards or to one side as you open your mouth and this will take the strain off your joints.

Set aside two five minutes periods every day at a time when you are relaxed and have nothing on your mind. One good time is just before you go to bed and another perhaps when you get home from work. Sit upright in a chair and carry out the following manoeuvres.

1. Close your mouth with your back teeth together, resting the tip of your tongue on your palate just behind the upper front teeth.

2. Run the tip of your tongue backwards on to the soft palate as far back as it will go, keeping the teeth in contact.

3. Force the tongue back to maintain contact with the soft palate, and slowly open your mouth until you feel your tongue just being pulled away from the soft palate. Do not try to open your mouth further. Keep it in this position for five seconds and then close your mouth. Relax for five seconds.

4. Repeat this manoeuvre slowly over the next five minutes in a firm but relaxed fashion.

As you open your mouth you should feel tension in the muscles at the back of your jaw and beneath your chin. For the first few times that you do the exercise you should check in front of a mirror that the lower teeth move vertically downwards; that is that there is no movement from side to side as you open your mouth. If the exercise is carried out correctly there will be no clicks or noise from the joints.

Do this exercise no more than the recommended amount for the first week. Initially it may seem to make your pain worse but this will be as a result of unaccustomed exercise. After the first week do the exercise as often as you can as this will help to strengthen the ligaments around your joints.

If this exercise is carried out correctly and regularly over a two to three week period you will retrain your muscles so that your jaw opens and closes smoothly without clicks and any pain that you are experiencing will subside.

^{Michael Ingram BDS | Suzie Ingram BDS | Stephen Dovey BDS}

^{187 Greenhill Road}

^Coalville

^{Leicester LE67 4UF}

^{Tel 01530 510783}

© 2007 Ingrams DP