Exercise to Prevent Clicking of the Jaw Joint

3. It is essential not to move the jaw or teeth when doing the exercise. Once the art of muscle contraction is learned it should be done for 3 – 5 minutes each hour, not necessarily sitting or in front of a mirror.

4. With practice, a definite sensation of tension will be noted in the suprahyoid muscles and in the region of the jaw joints.

5. Once the essential exercise has been learned, it can be done with small mouth opening movements, learning to open the jaw with a backward pull and avoiding the `click’. Day by day, the extent of the mouth opening is increased, always with the jaw positively retruded.

6. Gradually increase the extent of mouth opening until it can be opened to the full normal extent without producing a `click’. Always keep the suprahyoid muscles retracted.

REMEMBER: Muscles can be coaxed but not driven.

If you keep practising this exercise for at least 2 – 3 weeks, it will become second nature and the click will not return.