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Relief for painfully clenched jaw?

Susanne

Susanne

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
117
Location
USA
Any suggestions to relieve an extremely tight, painfully clenched jaw? Mine is so tense on one side that it hurts to open my mouth very much and it hurts to swallow on that side. It is all muscular and due to stress, but the best my dentist could suggest was to take ibuprofen and use warm compresses, both of which i've tried without much relief. Is there anything else I can do to make it feel better? It's really bothering me to the point of making me cry. I wish those muscles would relax, but they don't seem to want to no matter what I do, and the more it hurts, the more stressed I get and the worse the tension gets. :(
 
Ask your dentist to make you a mouth guard, you would be able to use it at night mainly but you would also you could use it through the day if it helped. You could also ask your doctor to refer you for some help with relaxing and finding out what is causing you stress.
 
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