- When you notice your jaw tighten up, apply a warm compress for 10-15 minutes or gently massage your jaw joints with your fingertips.
- To reduce jaw clenching caused by stress, aim to get 8 hours of restful sleep per night and about 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days.
- Consult your dentist or doctor about mouth guards or dental splints to protect your teeth from nighttime grinding and relax sore jaw muscles.
Relaxing Your Jaw & Alleviating Symptoms at Home
Apply a warm compress to the joints of your jaw. Soak a clean washcloth in hot water. Wring out the excess, then hold the moist cloth over the tensed or pained portion of your jaw for 10-15 minutes at a time. Perform this procedure as soon as you notice tension or pain in your jaw, or immediately before known times of high stress to help prevent tension before it builds. The warmth should relax the muscles in your jaw and help them loosen up. A relaxed jaw is less likely to tense up and begin clenching again. Alternatively, if you’re clenching is causing swelling and pain, apply a cold compress to soothe jaw joint pain and reduce inflammation.
Massage your jaw joints before bed or when they feel sore or tense. Use your fingers to gently massage the affected muscles. Apply firm yet gentle pressure to the tensed portion of your jaw, then work around the entire jaw and mouth area with small, circular motions. It's best to perform this exercise before you have the opportunity to clench your jaw, but you can also repeat it after you notice jaw tension or pain. Massaging the affected area can release tension in the muscles of your jaw. Once the muscles have relaxed and loosened up, you'll naturally be less inclined to clench them. Head and neck massages can also be effective at reducing jaw tension and pain.
Practice proper jaw placement throughout the day. If jaw clenching has become a chronic problem, you've likely trained yourself to hold your jaw improperly at a subconscious level. Practice mindful jaw placement every few hours throughout the day to retrain your brain and muscles. Do the following to perform a simple jaw placement exercise: Close your lips and keep a slight gap between your upper and lower teeth. Then, place the tip of your tongue in between your front teeth. Hold it there for at least five minutes. During this time, your jaw muscles should relax and reset to a more natural position. If this simple correction doesn't feel comfortable or helpful, you may need to ask your dentist to show you the best position for your jaw. Memorize the way it feels and take pictures of the way it looks. Consult those pictures later while practicing the same placement in front of a mirror.
Try jaw exercises to stretch, strengthen, and relax your jaw muscles. When you notice you’re clenching your jaw, pause for a moment and do one of the following exercises for several repetitions. Follow up with a jaw massage to stay relaxed and reduce the chance of tightening up later. Chin tucks: Stand tall against a wall and pull your chin inward to create a “double chin.” Hold for 3-5 seconds, then repeat several times. Mouth resistance exercise: Place your thumb under your chin and open your mouth, applying pressure to your chin with your thumb to create mild resistance. Hold for 3-5 seconds, then close your mouth. Jaw movements: Place a thin item like a popsicle stick between your top and bottom teeth. Lightly clench to hold the object in place, then slowly move your jaw side-to-side and front-to-back. As the exercise gets easier, gradually increase the thickness of the object.
Limit caffeine and avoid very hard or chewy foods if you have jaw pain. High caffeine consumption is linked to increased teeth grinding at night and jaw clenching during the day, so cut back on your caffeine intake by limiting foods and beverages like coffee, caffeinated teas, soda, and chocolate. If your jaw joints are sore or inflamed, give them time to rest and recover—avoid chewing gum or other sticky, chewy foods, and limit crunchy or hard snacks like thick chips or pretzels, nuts and seeds, or hard, raw vegetables like carrots. Quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol can also improve your sleep, resulting in less teeth grinding or jaw clenching at night.
Increase your calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and glucosamine intake. Calcium and magnesium are believed to help the jaw muscles relax, although there are few studies about their efficacy at reducing jaw tension. Vitamin C and glucosamine help rebuild cartilage in your jaw joints, and glucosamine may also reduce joint pain and increase the range of motion of your jaw. To increase your intake through diet, focus on foods rich in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C like dairy products, soybeans, whole grains, beans and legumes, and citrus fruits. Glucosamine is rare in food (it’s largely only found in shellfish shells from shrimp, lobster, and crabs), so consider taking a glucosamine supplement. Consult your doctor before trying any new supplements, as they may interfere with other medications.
Reducing Stress to Unclench Your Jaw
Identify and avoid stress triggers during the day and before bed. Stress can cause you to clench your jaw during daytime and nighttime hours. While stress is unavoidable, you can figure out ways of dealing with causes of stress once you identify them: Consider keeping a journal to help track your causes of stress. Make a note of any incident that causes anxiety, even if it seems mild, and pay special attention to causes of stress that occur immediately before or during daytime incidents of jaw clenching. Avoid any stress triggers that can be eliminated. For triggers that cannot be eliminated, balance them out with behaviors that help relax your mind. For instance, you might listen to soothing music, indulge in a warm bubble bath, meditate, or ease your mind with aromatherapy.
Get quality sleep to ease daytime stress and reduce nighttime teeth grinding. Following a regular sleep pattern will improve your quality of sleep, which may reduce jaw clenching and teeth grinding at night (bruxism). Try to get 8 hours of good, quality sleep each night to reduce your overall stress and make it easier to quit clenching your jaw during the day, too. Do your best to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day (even on weekends). Try to schedule a full eight hours between your bedtime and morning alarm. In addition to increasing the amount of sleep you get, also try to improve the quality of sleep. Try to completely relax your body and mind before going to bed, and avoid caffeine, alcohol, and screen time in the hours before bed. Sleep at comfortable, slightly cool temperatures, and turn off all bright lights and sources of irregular noise. Getting better sleep might also improve conditions like sleep apnea, which are linked to increased jaw clenching or teeth grinding at night.
Get regular aerobic exercise to reduce mental stress and muscle tension. Regular exercise can relieve stress while regulating your mood and immune system. As a result, the tension causing your jaw clenching should lessen, and the muscles in your jaw should become stronger and more elastic. Aim to get at least 30-40 minutes of moderate exercise, like walking, most days of the week (or 15-20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like running). When possible, exercise outdoors to get a daily dose of sunshine. The light will improve your mood and vitamin D production, as well as help regulate your circadian rhythm to improve your sleep. Any form of exercise from aerobics to weightlifting will benefit both your physical and mental stress.
Consider therapy or medication for chronic anxiety or sleep disorders. Anxiety is thought to be the most common cause of jaw clenching during the day or at night. If you frequently clench your jaw when you’re uneasy or panicked, talk to your healthcare provider or a therapist about cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Typically, patients see results within 4-6 months that help them confront stress and anxiety without physical reactions, such as jaw clenching. In some cases, your provider may prescribe anti-anxiety medication to help reduce your physical reaction to stressful stimuli. Short-acting medications like beta blockers or benzodiazepines are useful for situational anxiety or acute panic attacks, but may not be successful for long-term stress reduction.
Seeking Medical Help for Daytime & Nighttime Clenching
Schedule appointments with your dentist and your doctor. Jaw clenching is often a multifaceted problem that involves both physical and mental factors. A qualified dentist will be able to treat the oral components of the problem, but you'll need to talk with a general physician to determine a treatment plan for any other factors. To diagnose and assess the problem, your dentist or doctor may listen to or feel your jaw while you open and close your mouth, observe your jaw’s range of motion, or press on areas around your jaw to locate points of pain or discomfort. If they suspect bruxism (clenching and grinding your teeth during sleep) or a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problem, they may also take dental X-rays of your jaw and teeth, a CT scan of your jaw joint bones, or an MRI to examine soft tissue around the jaw.
Invest in dental splints or mouth guards to wear to bed. Both mouth guards and dental splits can keep teeth separated and protect them against the sort of damage caused by jaw clenching, especially at night while you’re asleep. While more expensive, dental splits are better than over-the-counter mouth guards. Mouth guards are generally made of hard plastic. You'll still feel pain caused by clenching the jaw, and that pain may worsen the underlying tension. Dental splints are made from soft acrylic and fitted to the shape of your mouth. They won't stop your jaw from clenching, but they should reduce the associated pain and may prevent the tension in your jaw from worsening. Note that both mouth guards and splints are generally reserved for nighttime treatment, but in extreme cases when daytime clenching is an issue, you can wear the equipment during daytime hours.
Consider biofeedback therapy to correct bad jaw position habits. Biofeedback is a type of physical therapy. During the treatment, the doctor will examine the way you hold and control your jaw through specialized monitoring equipment. The doctor can use the same equipment to help train and regulate muscle activity in your jaw. You may also be asked to wear a small wireless device that will remind you to adjust your jaw position when it senses tension or teeth grinding (while you’re awake or asleep). Results show that biofeedback treatments are just as effective (if not more so) than splints or mouth guards at correcting behavioral jaw clenching.
Try acupuncture to relieve jaw pain and tension. Talk with a professional acupuncturist about regular treatments that can soothe tense or painful jaw muscles. While there's very little scientific evidence to suggest the effectiveness of acupuncture, it stands as a popular form of alternative medicine. Some studies show it can be effective at reducing jaw pain, but more research is needed to confirm if it has long-term benefits for jaw clenching, bruxism, or TMJ disorders. Similarly, inquire about professional acupressure treatments. Acupuncture uses strategically placed needles to control pain in the body, but acupressure applies firm pressure to strategic points, instead.
Ask your doctor about muscle relaxants. Muscle relaxants can relax the muscles in your jaw, which should help prevent your jaw from clenching. Consult with your doctor about both oral relaxants and injected relaxants. Oral muscle relaxants must be prescribed by a doctor and only taken for short periods to avoid dependency. These medications relax your entire body's immune response. They may make you drowsy, so you plan to take them before bedtime. Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) treatments are injected directly into the affected area and only relax the surrounding jaw muscles. These treatments last for prolonged periods but are usually prescribed only as a last resort when other treatments are ineffective.
Examine your medications for side effects including jaw clenching. If you're currently taking long-term prescription medications and you didn't clench your jaw before you began treatment, ask your doctor if your jaw clenching habits could be a side effect of the medication. If medications are causing the problem, your doctor may prescribe a different medication to help eliminate jaw clenching. While there are different types of medications that can cause jaw clenching, some of the most common culprits include antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Note that alcohol, smoking, and recreational drug use can also cause jaw clenching and should be eliminated.
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