Patient resources
Jaw pain and TMD: what we talked about today
If you've been sent this page after your appointment, it's a summary of what we discussed about your jaw. Keep it handy and come back to it when your jaw flares up.
TMD (temporomandibular disorder) is the name for a group of problems affecting the jaw joints, the muscles you chew with, or both. It's very common. And the good news: for most people it settles with simple, low-cost steps you can do at home.
What's causing it?
There's rarely one single cause. TMD usually comes from several things adding up at once. The mix is different for everyone, but the common pieces are:
- Jaw habits during the day. Clenching while concentrating, resting with your teeth together, chewing gum, biting nails, pens or the inside of your cheek.
- Grinding or clenching at night. This can play a part, but on its own it's rarely the whole story.
- Stress, worry and low mood. These make the jaw muscles work harder and turn up how strongly the body feels pain.
- Poor sleep. Pain disturbs sleep and poor sleep makes pain worse, so the two can feed each other.
- Sleep apnoea and breathing problems at night. Snoring, mouth breathing or pauses in your breathing while you sleep are linked with night-time clenching and jaw pain, and leave you waking up unrefreshed. If that sounds like you, read our breathing and jaws page — it explains the signs to look for and the next steps, starting with your GP.
- Other pain problems. Headaches or migraine, neck or back pain and some other ongoing pain conditions often travel together with TMD.
- Hormones — including menopause. Jaw pain is roughly twice as common in women, and the jaw joint and its muscles respond to hormone levels. Many women notice flare-ups around periods, in pregnancy, or through perimenopause and menopause, when shifting oestrogen can make muscles and joints achier and the body's pain system more sensitive. If your jaw pain arrived alongside other menopausal symptoms, mention it to us and to your GP — it's worth looking at together.
- Less often, an injury to the jaw.
What's usually not the cause is your bite. Research has not found that the way your teeth meet causes jaw pain. That's why we don't recommend grinding teeth down or braces to “fix” TMD.
The good news
- Most people get better. Most jaw pain improves with simple, reversible care. It may come and go in flare-ups, especially during stressful times, but it usually becomes easy to manage.
- Jaw joint problems rarely get worse over time. Most stay stable for years.
- Clicking on its own is common and harmless. Around one in three people have a jaw that clicks with no pain, and it doesn't need treatment.
How do we fix it?
Because TMD is multifactorial — several causes adding up, in a different mix for each person — there's no single pill or procedure that fixes everyone. Treatment starts with a bit of detective work.
Step one: work out what's driving yours. Go back through the causes above and be honest about which ones sound like you. Daytime clenching? Poor sleep? A stressful season? Hormonal changes? Most people find two or three.
Step two: fix those root causes. This is the approach we prefer, because it's the only thing that actually settles TMD for the long term — retraining the clenching habit, sorting out sleep, getting support for stress, doing the jaw exercises. Everything in the next section is aimed at exactly that.
In the meantime: protect against further damage. Root-cause work takes weeks, not days. While it takes effect, there are two good options to shield your teeth and calm overworked muscles — a night splint or muscle-relaxant injections into the masseter, the main clenching muscle. Both are explained further down. They're valuable protection, but neither cures the cause — think of them as an umbrella, not a change in the weather.
What helps: the things you do yourself
These are the foundation of treatment and have the strongest evidence behind them. They work gradually, over weeks rather than days, so stick with them.
- Find your jaw's resting position. Lips together, teeth apart, tongue resting gently on the roof of your mouth. Your teeth should only touch when you're eating or swallowing.
- Catch daytime clenching. Put a small sticker on your computer screen, steering wheel or phone as a reminder to check your jaw. Each time you notice clenching, go back to the resting position.
- Go easy during flare-ups. Choose softer foods, cut food into small pieces and chew on both sides. When the flare settles, go back to a normal, balanced diet — you don't need to avoid foods forever.
- Cut the extra chewing. No gum, nail biting or chewing pens. Support your chin with your hand when you yawn.
- Try heat or cold. Hold a warm, damp face cloth or a wrapped ice pack over the sore area for 10 to 15 minutes. Try both and use whichever helps you more.
- Massage. Gently rub the sore muscles in your cheeks and temples in small circles, twice a day.
- Do your jaw exercises. This is the part that does the most work — see the jaw exercises page for the routine we recommend.
- Look after your sleep. Keep regular sleep times, limit caffeine after midday and put screens away before bed.
- Try a body scan meditation before bed. Ten minutes of lying still and slowly relaxing each part of your body in turn settles the nervous system, helps you sleep and takes tension out of the jaw. There are plenty of free guided versions on YouTube — search for “10 minute body scan meditation for sleep” and pick a voice you like.
- Pain relief for flare-ups. Paracetamol or ibuprofen (if they're safe for you) can help for a few days during a flare-up. Follow the packet directions and ask your pharmacist or GP if you're unsure.
Your daily jaw exercises
The full routine — nine gentle exercises, how often to do them and what to avoid. Do these two or three times a day.
If it isn't settling after a few weeks
- Physiotherapy. A physiotherapist with an interest in jaw problems can give hands-on treatment and a tailored exercise plan. This has some of the best evidence of any treatment for jaw pain. Ask us or your GP for a recommendation.
- Support for stress, mood or pain. Talking therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) help people manage long-term pain and reduce how much it affects them. Your GP can talk you through the options.
- Your GP. See your GP if you snore heavily, wake up unrefreshed or often have headaches. These are worth checking in their own right, and treating them can help your jaw too.
Where a splint fits in
A splint is a custom-made appliance you wear over your teeth, usually at night. It can be a useful part of your plan, but it's important to know what it does and doesn't do.
What a splint can do
- Protect your teeth, fillings and crowns from wear and cracking if you grind or clench.
- Ease muscle pain for some people, especially morning jaw ache and headaches.
What it won't do
It manages symptoms rather than curing the cause. It works best alongside the steps above, not instead of them.
If you have one
- Give it about three months to judge how much it's helping.
- If it makes your pain worse, stop wearing it and call us.
- Once things settle, many people wear it only during flare-ups.
How to wear it and keep it clean is in our splint care guide. More detail and pricing is on our splints page.
Where muscle-relaxant injections fit in
The masseter is the thick chewing muscle you can feel bulge at the angle of your jaw when you bite down. In people who clench and grind hard it becomes overworked and tender — it's the muscle behind much of the aching, and behind the force that cracks teeth and fillings.
What the injections can do
- A small, precisely placed dose of a muscle-relaxant medicine is injected into the masseter on each side. It takes the excess force out of the muscle while everyday chewing and talking carry on as normal. The visit takes about ten minutes.
- Over the following one to two weeks the clenching force drops. That can ease muscle pain, tension-type headaches and morning jaw ache, and it takes real strain off your teeth, fillings and crowns.
- The effect lasts around three to four months and then wears off. Some people repeat it while they work on their causes — and often the muscle needs less over time as the habit retrains.
What they won't do
Like a splint, injections manage symptoms rather than curing the cause. Research shows they help some people clearly and others less, and the benefit fades if the drivers aren't addressed. They work best alongside the steps above, not instead of them.
Splint, injections — or both?
A splint physically shields the teeth and is usually where we start. Injections suit people who clench heavily through the day (when a splint isn't practical), who can't tolerate wearing a splint, or who grind straight through them. The two can be combined. We'll help you work out which fits your situation — just ask at your next visit, or call us.
Where to have them done
We don't give these injections at Southside Dental. We recommend Aesthetics By Tarah in Toowoomba — 243 Margaret St, Toowoomba City, 0461 432 523. When you book, let them know your dentist has suggested masseter injections for clenching or jaw pain.
What we don't recommend
- Grinding teeth to change your bite — it's permanent, and the evidence doesn't support it.
- Braces to treat jaw pain — it doesn't fix TMD.
- Surgery as a first step — it's for a small number of specific joint problems, and only after simpler care has been tried.
If your pain doesn't improve despite everything above, we can refer you to a specialist. We recommend Dr John Webster, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Toowoomba with a special interest in jaw joint (TMJ) problems — Oral Facial & Implant Centre, 4 Margaret St, East Toowoomba, (07) 4580 4733. Ask us and we'll write the referral to him.
When to call us or your GP promptly
Jaw pain is almost always TMD, but please get checked straight away if you notice:
- Mouth opening: you suddenly can't open your mouth properly, or it's getting steadily smaller.
- Swelling or lumps: in your face, jaw or neck.
- Fever: a high temperature with jaw pain or swelling.
- Numbness: new numbness or tingling in your face, lip or tongue.
- Sudden bite change: your teeth suddenly meet differently.
- Jaw cramping when you chew, with headaches or changes to your vision. This is especially important if you're over 50 — see your GP the same day.
- Mouth ulcers or a hoarse voice lasting more than three weeks.
- Unexplained weight loss.
- New jaw pain while taking osteoporosis medication (such as bisphosphonates).
Common questions
Will it go away?
For most people, yes, or it becomes mild and occasional. Flare-ups can happen, especially during busy or stressful periods, and you'll know what to do when they do.
My jaw clicks — is that a problem?
Not on its own. Clicking without pain or locking is common and doesn't need treatment. Let us know if your jaw locks or catches.
Do I need an X-ray or scan?
Usually not. TMD is diagnosed by talking with you and examining your jaw. We'll suggest imaging only if something in your examination calls for it.
Can stress really cause jaw pain?
Stress doesn't create the pain out of nothing, but it makes the jaw muscles work harder and turns up how much pain you feel. That's why looking after stress and sleep is part of the plan.
Can menopause really affect my jaw?
It can play a part. The jaw joint and muscles respond to hormone levels, and some women notice jaw pain start or flare through perimenopause and menopause. It's rarely the whole story on its own — but it's worth factoring into your mix of causes, and worth mentioning to your GP.
Is it something I did?
No. TMD is very common and comes from several things combining. The steps on this page put you back in control.
Questions about your jaw? Call us on 07 4635 1444 or book online.
Based on the 2024 UK Royal College of Surgeons guideline for painful TMD and the 2023 BMJ international guideline on chronic TMD pain. General information only — your own plan is the one we discussed with you.