13 Effective Jaw Exercises for Bruxism-Stop Teeth Grinding

Do you suffer from Bruxism symptoms like grinding teeth and stretched jaw muscles? Here are 13 Effective Jaw Exercises for Bruxism to relieve them. You can perform the following effective jaw exercises for Bruxism to get relief. These exercises not only give you some relief but help you strengthen your jaw muscles as well.

With Bruxism not only pain, you fear tooth loss or decay, especially when you have some tooth crowns or fillings. Visiting dentists is never fun, there must be some relief. Jaw exercises for Bruxism can be a great relief.

It is a common sleeping issue that most people are unaware of. It is characterized by clenching and grinding of teeth. You need to know the causes of teeth grinding during sleep. As this grinding can even cause permanent tooth decay.

Bruxism is generally not regarded as a disorder but a behavioral issue that may involve the risk of clinical consequences. The good news is you can cure or get at ease with exercises. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to cure the issue at the earliest. 13 effective jaw exercises for Bruxism mentioned in this article can greatly help.

Contents

13 Jaw Exercises for Bruxism

Initially, you can soothe your tense jaw joint and muscles by applying an ice pack to the sore area for 15-20 minutes. Some people find relief in applying heat. Alternatively, you can get relief using cold and heat packs with a gap of fifteen minutes each. Thirty-one percent of adults are reported to suffer from it.

The exact cause of this disorder remains unknown, but you can effectively use some of the following exercises to get some relief.

Relaxing the jaw
Stretching the jaw muscles
Strengthening jaw muscles
Improving jaw mobility &
Reducing jaw clicking

These exercises effectively cure the cause and effects of teeth grinding and clenching. Either it is grinding causing tension in the jaw or jaw tension causing soreness. It results in earaches, jaw joint aches, and headaches as well.

facial exercises for Bruxism build jaw strength

Besides physical factors, stress is a significant cause you should not ignore. Make cardiovascular and muscles building exercises a part of your routine life. Along with, maintaining muscular strength, you should also focus on relaxation techniques. You can perform relaxation exercises to maintain peaceful sleep and normal BP and reduce overall fatigue, toothache, and jaw relaxation.

1. Mindfulness Exercises for Bruxism

Mindful exercises prevent stress and clenching, resulting in jaw tension. You can practice meditation, gradually narrowing your focus to your breathing. This provides you with a comforting feeling and relaxes your muscles involved in Bruxism.

You can consciously try to ease your jaw muscles when straining up. You may also be unaware of this involuntary action due to pain. You can practice clenching jaw muscles intentionally and gradually relax these muscles to understand the difference between strained and relaxed muscles.

2. Use Tongue as a Guard

To avoid grinding teeth, you can use your tongue as a guard. Press the tip of your tongue to the backside of your upper teeth and hold it. Practice it often but don’t overdo it as it may cause more strain. Your tongue now forms a shield between your upper and lower teeth. It prevents compression between teeth. You can practice it during day time. It cannot help teeth grinding during sleep.

use tongue to guard teeth grinding

You can fold your tongue enough in the exercise to touch the palate. With slight pressure, you can move your tongue backward to touch the soft palate, count to 5, and return to normal.

Now move your tongue pointed to the right cheek, left cheek, and then palette again. Hold your tongue on each side for a while. Next, you need to extend your tongue forward out of your mouth as much as possible, count to 5, and relax. Repeat this exercise for 4-5 minutes.

3. Practice Yawning Exercises

Clenching tightens your jaw muscles. Yawning can help reduce strained and clamped jaw muscles. Practice yawning 8-10 times consecutively. It is similar to other gym exercises where you activate your muscles to get stronger and perform better.

4. Move Your Jaw Forward

This is an effective exercise for Bruxism. Hold a slightly thick object (like a pencil) with your front teeth. Move your lower teeth forward more than the upper teeth. This causes muscle movement and gradually relaxes them. You can practice with some thicker objects (some markers) once your find your muscles relaxed.

5. Move Your Jaw Sideward

The next jaw exercise for sore muscles due to Bruxism is to move your jaw from one side to the other. It helps strengthen them.

Hold some slightly thick object with your front teeth and gently move your jaw sideward. This relaxes and gradually strengthens your jaw muscles. Choose a thicker object once your muscles feel relaxed performing this exercise.

Another way is to open your mouth wide and then move your jaw from one side to the other.

6. Pushing Your Jaws

Open your mouth wide without adding discomfort. Slowly push the right of your jaw to the left side for 10-12 seconds and relax. Repeat the same exercise with your left hand 5-7 times.

7. Massage

Take a warm water shower and let the warm water run over your jaw muscles. Gently press your jaw muscles with your fingertips and make small circular movements. You can cure some muscular knots formed in your jaws.

You can extend this massage to your neck and shoulders as well. You can seek the help of a massage therapist or physical therapist to trace muscular knots that might add to your prolonged tension.

8. Use the Osteopressure Tool

You can use some tools for jaw exercises for Bruxism as well. Trace your jaw joint with your fingertips and use the Osteopressure tool to build bearable pressure on the point. Keep the pressure on the sore spot for some time, and then relax. Repeat it 4-5 times on both sides of your jaw hinges but don’t overdo it.

Similarly, you can trace some other sensitive points and repeat the procedure. You can place your opposite hand to keep your head stable and upright.

9. Move Your Neck and Shoulder

You can cure and prevent Bruxism with relaxed neck and shoulder muscles. Move your shoulders in a circular motion, forward and backward. It helps relieve the tension. You can perform these exercises in sitting and standing positions. neck and shoulder movement is good in Bruxism

Start counting to 10 and slowly move your neck down; it should touch your chest with the 10 counts. Start counting 10 again, moving your head backward and completing with your neck back to its normal position. Stay here for another count of 10 seconds and repeat. Keep your jaw and face relaxed while performing these exercises.

Additionally, place your right hand at the back of your neck, and with small circular motions trace the aching point. Now massage it gently for 2 minutes. Repeat the same procedure with your left hand.

10. Build Upward Pressure

Place your thumb under your chin and open your mouth gently. Build a slight upward pressure from your thumb. Create a resistance in the opening movement of your jaw with your thumb in the center of your chin. Keep your jaw open for 4-6 seconds. You can repeat it 4-6 times.

These jaw exercises for Bruxism can help alleviate your pain and discomfort. Still, everyone may have a different degree of relief as Bruxism can vary in different cases. You can consult your dentist for better recommendations. You can consult a physical therapist to help you perform tailored exercises to improve the strength and mobility of your jaw joint.

11. Chin Tucks

Stand straight and relax. Take a deep breath and push your head back, tucking in your chin. Get back to your normal position and breathe out. Repeat the same exercise 5-7 times.

12. Force Down Your Tongue

Press down your tongue to the lower side of your jaw and open your mouth wide. Keep pushing your down against the lower side as if it is pushing down your jaw. Now relax and massage your jaw joint gently. Use tongue in exercise to reduce Bruxism tension

13. PRM (Progressive Muscular Relaxation)

You can reduce anxiety and manage stress using PRM techniques and eventually relieve the probable cause of muscular tension. Stress tenses up muscles of the whole body and especially jaw muscles. This leads to clenching of jaw muscles and grinding teeth. PRM is effective to reduce Bruxism

An effective exercise to relieve Bruxism is PRM. Choose a calm place with dim light for practicing PRM. First, one by one, pull and stiffen every muscle of your body and then ease them. Tense up and relax every muscle thrice before the other. It is recommended that you start with your feet and gradually move upward to facial muscles. You can change the sequence from face to foot muscles as well.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

People with dental treatment, crowning, filling, or denture can face alarming situations as grinding and clenching spoil these dental treatments. Others with no dental treatment can also get their teeth damaged or cracked.

bite guard to avoid night grinding

A bite guard can help with night-time grinding during sleep. You can get these bite guards from medical stores. Still, it is advised that you get a better and customized one from your dentist.

The Final Verdict

In some cases, there is no relief despite doing these jaw exercises for Bruxism, you should consult a doctor. Your doctor can suggest some therapies or medications for reducing the clenching discomfort. Doctors may recommend surgery in extreme cases.

Prevention is better than cure. Try to figure out the stress causes of Bruxism and cure them with the help of your medical practitioner.

Moreover, you can do personal care such as avoiding chewing hard foods, exercising regularly, maintaining good posture, and using cold or hot packs on your jaw[4]. To avoid also, use mouth guards to prevent sleep Bruxism. People often inquire about the lasting effects of jaw exercises for Bruxism; remember no exercise can be a permanent remedy; it can help ease the situation.

FAQs

Q. How to relax my jaw when sleeping?

You can use a bite guard to relax your jaw and help grind during sleep.

Q. How to cure Bruxism?

You can perform mentioned jaw exercises to help relieve stressed jaw muscles due to Bruxism.

Q. What are exercises to stop clenching the jaw?

You can perform simple exercises like:

Chin tucks
Bruxism jaw massage
Practice Yawning
PRM (Progressive Muscular Relaxation)

Q. Are neck exercises effective for Bruxism?

Neck and shoulder muscles are also affected due to clenched and stressed jaw muscles. Neck exercises can relieve your jaw muscles and reduce Bruxism.