If you experience jaw pain, it doesn't necessarily mean your teeth are the issue. While you may not immediately consider visiting a chiropractor for difficulty chewing, we have had a lot of success helping our patients with their jaw pain, either alone or in conjunction with their dentist.

Questions To Assess Your Jaw's Function:

1. Do you experience popping or clicking sounds when you chew or open your jaw? If so, this indicates that the small disc inside the jaw joint (TMJ) sometimes gets caught when you open or close your mouth.

2. Do you frequently experience tension headaches originating from both sides of your temples? This symptom could be a result of excessive clenching in the chewing muscles, causing them to overwork.

3. How wide can you open your mouth? Ideally, you should be able to open it to a width of three fingers. If you can only manage two fingers or four, it suggests that a muscle is either holding your jaw too closed or too open.

4. As you open your mouth, does it move smoothly in a straight line, or does it deviate at an angle or zigzag? Irregular movements indicate that a muscle on one side is exerting more force in the opposite direction compared to the other side, resulting in an imbalance.

Our approach to solving TMJ & Jaw Issues:

• Often treatment involves applying pressure to the muscles around the temples, jaw, and chin. We may ask you to open and close your mouth or move your jaw from side to side in an effort to relieve tension in these muscles.

• If we notice that one side of your jaw is opening more or less than the other, we may use the activator tool to create smoother movement and symmetry of the TMJ.

• Address issues in your neck and upper back. Often Jaw pain doesn’t happen in isolation. Your stiff and/or sore spine can be contributing to your jaw pain.

What you can do at home:

• Avoid chewing gum: it puts excessive strain on the chewing muscles.

• Mouthguards can be helpful: If you have been prescribed a mouth guard for nighttime teeth grinding, make sure to use it consistently. This not only protects your teeth but also gives your muscles a break.

• Pay attention to how you chew as well. Try to distribute the chewing evenly on both sides of your mouth. However, if it's too painful to do so, it could indicate that you should schedule a visit to our clinic to examine your jaw.

If you are experiencing Jaw or TMJ pain, book an appointment with Dr. Armstrong or Dr. Freedman to discuss what treatment strategies would work for you. We are always happy to help.