Please share some do's and don'ts when it comes to tmj syndrome.

See: See a TMJ specialist and get a nightguard. Seek help on why you are grinding your teeth.

Don't: Don't open wide when biting food...Limit the jaw opening.

Do: Do seek early TMJ evaluations if you have any symptoms, don't wait until you have severe TMJ pain.

Avoid: Avoid chewing gums or other chewy foods and candy if you have TMJ clicking or pain.

Keeping: Keeping your teeth together all the time is bad.

Don't: Don't put off care if you need it. Do reduce stress.

If: If a dentist wants to treat you by changing your bite get a second opinion.

Avoid: Avoid surgery. The most common TMJ problems arise from spondyloarthritis, especially psoriatic a!

If: If your jaw locks open, it's usually easier to close by moving to the side than trying to close.

Decrease: Decrease the likelihood of TMJ discomfort by limiting how often and how long you chew gum.

A: A soft diet, warm compresses, anti-inflammatory medications and stress reduction often help tmj.

Be: Be aware of when your jaw is clenched and consciously relax by opening and closing mouth.

Heat,: Heat, topical analgesics, gentle massage, tiger balm may all help alleviate the pain of tmj.

TMD: Tmd (the syndrome), can be reduced by stress management and limiting use of the TMJ (joint).

Get: Get a nightguard if you clench your teeth or grind them at night.

Changing: Changing the bite is no longer supported by evidence to treat TMJ problems.

TMJ: Myth: TMJ is not a big deal. Actually: the TMJ is central to your nutrition & communication.

If: If you have any TMJ \tmd symptoms, ask your dentist what he\she recommends you do.

If: If you clench your teeth during the day, place your tongue between your upper and lower teeth to control.

The: The tmj, like any other joint, will take a certain amount of use/abuse. If it hurts, back off!

Wearing: Wearing a mouth guard at night can ease your TMJ symptoms.

If: If you have any TMJ /tmd symptoms, ask your dentist what he/she recommends you do.

Get: Get enough rest/sleep, exercise all muscle groups regularly, drink a lot of fluids.

Physical: Physical therapy can be very effective in treating TMJ disorders.

An: An oral appliance from a dentist can be useful to treat joint symptoms.

Wear: Wear an occlusal guard during sleep to control your TMJ pain and help you sleep better.

The: The first course of treatment should always be a removable appliance.

Motrin: Motrin 400-600 mg three times a day and a soft diet usually will do the trick.

Consult: Consult with a dentist who has a lot of experience and training treating tmd patients.

There: There are many removable dental appliances to help you get through an acute TMJ episode.

Non-steroidal: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaid's) can be helpful in controlling acute pain.

Find: Find a method of relaxing the chewing muscles (acupuncture, antispasmodics, heat, consciously relax).

This: This is one entity where a valium (rx) type drug may be truly helpful.

Surgery: Surgery is the last resort.

Treatment: Treatment needs to be considered only after a diagnosis.

TMJ: Tmj pain is usually a muscle spasm which can be treated with moist heat and muscle relaxants.

Many: Many times the best treatment is orthodontics, but optimize the TMJ before tooth alignment.

Typically,: Typically, dentist know more about the TMJ then physicians.

Can: Can include treatment of the neck and shoulder area.

Dentists: Dentists with more than normal TMJ training can be found at www.Aaop.Org or www.Aacfp.Org.

When: When getting a long term use splint, make sure all of the opposing teeth hit evenly at the same time.

Don't: Don't chew gum. Soft diet. See orthodontist to check your occlusion. Ask about occlusal orthotic.

Malocclusion: Malocclusion is associated with most tmj. 90% of patients report improvement after orthodontic treatment.

Meditation: Meditation helps relieve stress which may then help with tmj.

Use: Use a mouth guard every night to sleep. Dentists can make small comfortable ones.

Ask: Ask your dentist to check you for malocclusion, often the cause of tmj. If so, see an orthodontist.

If: If you have a malocclusion, have it treated before it causes joint damage.

Even: Even if symptoms abate, if the cause of dysfunction is not treated, serious damage can occur.

Night: Night guards that prevent clenching the jaw and grinding the teeth may be quite helpful.

Physical: Physical therapy can help by muscle relaxation and increasing the range of motion in the joint.

Yoga,: Yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and stress management can also help ease symptoms of tmd.

Do: Do visit your dentists, oro-maxillary surgeon, ENT doctors, rehab doctors who can help.

Be: Be kind, don't grind; chew slowly, chew softly with water per bite; and wear a mouthpiece at night!

Rest: Rest the muscles of the joint - no gum chewing or ice crunching, use a night-guard to stop clenching.

Light: Light range-of-motion exercises to the jaw - moving it horizontally and vertically.

As: As a rule, avoid chewing gum and/or taffy. These will aggravate TMJ and cause painful flare ups.

Don't: Don't chew gum! this will certainly aggravate the TMJ and will often lead to pain.

My: My idiosyncratic answer is do not tilt head & if do so look to see if you have functional scoliosis.

Avoid: Avoid surgery, do physical therapy, try biofeedback & relaxation techniques. Correct neck tilting.

Consider: Consider an anterior bite block (splint) for sleep to help relieve TMJ pain.

Decrease: Decrease stress. Exhale 8 x long & slow every time you sit down. Daily exercise. Deep relaxation.

See: See a specialist who focuses on jaw problems, consider a splint, surgery as last resort only.

If: If you know that you grind your teeth at night visit with a dentist to obtain custom molds to wear.

Most: Most TMJ pain goes away by itself.

Don't: Don't choose hard foods. They will aggravate your TMJ syndrome.

Nonsurgical: Nonsurgical treatments include biofeedback, stretching exercises, and ultrasound treatments.

Try: Try to reduce stress in your life. Stress can cause you to clench exacerbating TMJ pain.

Have: Have your occlusion (bite) evaluated and have an upper acrylic guard fabricated if grinding /clench.

Have: Have your occlusion evaluated and have an upper acrylic guard fabricated if grinding/clenching.

Do: Do take small bites and chew thoroughly and don't chew ice, gum, bite apples, caramels.

If: If you suffer from TMJ issues, less chewing is better. Smaller bites, softer foods, no gum chewing.

Treatment: Treatment of TMJ problems can include: splint therapy, physical therapy, and time.

Steroid: Steroid injections directly into the joint can help with inflammation in tmj.

Avoid: Avoid chewing gum around the clock or laying on stomach with pressure on your chin.

The: The pain is not only at the joint. It can cause referred pain and headaches.

There: There are many online exercises that can help strengthen, prevent, and slow progression of tmj.

Avoid: Avoid chewy candy and gum. It can make your TMJ symptoms worse.

Conservative: Conservative therapies are preferred over invasive ones such as surgery and occlusal adjustments.

Avoid: Avoid too much caffeine, chewing gum and keep your teeth gently apart during the day.

Avoid: Avoid chewing gum. Stomach sleeping and clenching your teeth or keeping them gently touching.

Bad: It's a myth that bad teeth occlusion is always related or the main cause of TMJ syndrome.

Soft: Soft occlusal appliances should be avoided since they might increase grinding and clenching teeth.

Realize: Realize that if you are compliant with treatment it won't last all that long.

Don't: Don't chew gum excessively and take small bites of food.

When: When suffering from an acute episode, rest your jaw, no gum, no hard/chewy food, and apply heat.

Using: Using a night mouth guard can decrease symptoms of TMJ syndrome. Talk to your dentist.

To: To decrease risk of damage to the tmjs, avoid over-stretching when yawning--simply bite down to yawn.

When: When the TMJ is sore, rest it! soft diet, minimize exertion & stretch.

Dental: Dental splints can help with muscle pain or joint pain--they are two different things.

No: No chewing gum, sticky or hard candies.

No: No chewing gum and don't eat anything hard, sticky or chewy.

Check: Check with your dentist to see if a occlussal splint or bite guard would ease your symptoms.

Avoid: Avoid opening wide and biting. Use memory foam pillow. Cheap oral appliances available. Heat helps.

No: No gum chewing, eat softer foods. Lower your stress level. Physical therapy can work wonders.

Mouth: Mouth guards (bite blocks) and glucosamine can be helpful.

Ignore: Don't chew gum, if you have TMJ or jaw pain.

Ignore: Decrease stress..Stress causes clenching and grinding that will affect the temperomandibular joint.

Ignore: Don't chew gum or foods that need a lot of chewing to avoid overstressing the muscles.

Ignore: Cold packs to the sore spots. Ibuprofen, soft diet. Keep your teeth apart so you do not clench them.

Ignore: See a dentist ; orthodontist for an evaluation of teeth and bite. If needed braces can decrease tmj.

Ignore: Decrease use of chewing gum. Wear a night guard to sleep if you tend to grind your teeth at night.

Ignore: Botox is often very helpful to reduce the muscle spasm and pain.

Ignore: Splints are usually first line wothpt. Botox helps. Sometime surgery is needed.

Ignore: Eat a soft food diet, don't chew ice or gum, massage your jaw muscles, and get a splint from dentist.

Ignore: Try stress reducing breathing exercises or yoga and seek advice from your dentist.

Ignore: Eat a soft diet and have a TMJ splint or nightguard made by your dentist.

Ignore: Don't chew on ice , hard candy, chewy candy, meat or anything that taxes your jaw.

Ignore: Don't chew a lot of gum, do wear a guard to keep your teeth apart while sleeping.

Ignore: See a TMJ dentist. Many improve with the right type of mouthguard. Soft diet ; laser helps too.

Ignore: Eat a soft diet, use advil, (ibuprofen) see a TMJ dentist. You may need a special guard to relax the muscles.

If: If your TMJ pain has not gone away, ask your dr about a steroid injection into the tm joint.

Ignore: Avoid overly chewy foods, limit opening mouth to its limits.

Ignore: When your mouth closes does it mainly hit in the front? If so, contact a dentist who can discuss.

Ignore: Botox can provide relief for acute symptoms.

Ignore: Make sure you hit in the back of your mouth with the same pressure on both sides when you close.

Ignore: Always do the most conservative treatment first to resolve your symptoms.

Ignore: Don't assume a pop or click when you open that doesn't have pain is healthy.

Ignore: First seek proper treatment, anti-inflammatories, warm compresses and bite plate may help.

Ignore: Consider physical therapy and gentle manipulation, then progress to injections if pain remains.

Ignore: Don't continue to chew gum, this will only make things worse.

Ignore: Avoid chewing gum, when pain is active eat soft foods, use cold and warm compresses at night.

Ignore: Muscle relaxers can help with TMJ disorder, speak with your doc.

Ignore: Don't chew gum or hard candy. Do get a mouth guard and use NSAIDs.

Ignore: An inexpensive 2-piece mouthguard worn at night may change the muscle dynamics enough to stop spasms.

Ignore: TMJ can be caused by muscle spasms which are effectively treated with trigger point injections.

Ignore: Do not eat anything that is hard or open your mouth wide. Seek treatment if the symptoms are severe.

Ignore: Botox can be a good procedure to consider if you grind your teeth or have bruxism.