To get you through times when your symptoms are at their worst, try these tips: Choose soft foods. These include scrambled eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, quiche, tofu, soup, smoothies, pasta, fish, mashed potatoes, milkshakes, bananas, applesauce, gelatin, or ice cream. Don't bite into hard foods.
To help rest your TMJ, try eating soft foods. A soft-food diet generally consists of well-cooked vegetables and fruits, eggs, soups, yogurt and smoothies. When following a soft-foods diet, it is important to make sure you are still getting the necessary amounts of vitamins, fiber, protein and other nutrients.
When you're having a particularly bad flare-up, you may wish to switch to smoothies-and-soups, but otherwise, avoiding hard foods is usually sufficient. A diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods. This means eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, beans, and healthy fats.
Try homemade heat therapy: Wrap a moist hot towel around your jaw and neck and leave it for 15 to 20 minutes once an hour. The moist heat will help your muscles relax and possibly reduce muscle spasms.
Common medications for trismus include muscle relaxers and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, a doctor may prescribe oral medications or drugs that require injection into the jaw. Some forms of NSAIDs are also available over the counter.
Run your fingers down your masseter muscle (muscle on the side of your face), which connects your jaw bone to your skull. Move your fingers in a circular motion for 30 seconds, two to three times a day. This motion helps loosen your jaw. These movements will stretch your jaw muscles, but shouldn't cause pain.
Suggest taking analgesics: ASA or acetamiophen 325 mg, 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hrs; or ibuprofen 200 mg, 1-2 tablets every 4 hrs. Muscle relaxants may be used in combination with analgesics or alone. Benzodiazepines may also be used, such as diazepam (2-5 mg, 3 times/day).
Generally, trismus is gradually alleviated or disappears within approximately 1 to 2 weeks post-operatively; however, in very rare cases, trismus persists for >1 month.
Severe trismus makes it difficult or impossible to insert dentures. It may make physical re-examination difficult, if limited mouth opening precludes adequate visualization of the site. Oral hygiene is compromised, chewing and swallowing is more difficult, and there is an increased risk of aspiration.
Taking the proper dose of magnesium for your age and gender can help reduce TMD pain by allowing the jaw muscles to relax properly, in addition to mitigating SAD by restoring “mood stabilizing” compounds. The current RDA for adults is between 320 and 420mg daily and the average US intake is around 250mg daily.
If you are experiencing issues such as jaw clicking and locking, you may have temporomandibular joint dysfunction (usually referred to as TMJ/TMD). TMJ/TMD occurs when the temporomandibular joint becomes damaged or inflamed due to an injury, inflammatory disorders, and other such issues.
Raw, Crunchy Vegetables
Raw vegetables such as celery, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower are all good foods for exercising the jaws.
Several techniques are useful, including the use of tongue depressors of serially increasing size inserted between the incisors or the molars. Patients need to know that trismus that occurs 1 year after treatment will be permanent and that there is no good surgical or medical therapy.
Most cases of trismus resolve following symptom-directed treatment with heat therapy and NSAIDs.
Trismus can have substantial negative impacts on a patient's quality of life. Because trismus affects the jaw and mouth region, it can cause serious problems with eating, speaking, swallowing, and maintaining oral hygiene.
Trismus caused by inflammation resolves by itself in due course, without need of any intervention. Whereas, when there is infection, trismus persists for a prolonged duration and it may even aggravate. This can be controlled by prescribing antibiotics.
Symptoms include the reduced range of motion you experienced, pain or cramping in the jaw that occurs with or without movement, and pain or difficulty when exerting pressure, as when eating. Whether or not your jaw problem is due to TMD or trismus, we urge you to see your doctor or a TMD specialist for diagnosis.
Calcium and magnesium.
May help the jaw muscle relax, although there are no scientific studies using them for TMJ problems. Magnesium and calcium interact with several medications, herbs, and supplements. They can also affect your heart and blood pressure, so be sure to tell your doctor before you take them.
Your healthcare provider may suggest using ice and heat. Ice helps reduce swelling and pain. Heat helps relax muscles, increasing blood flow. Use a gel pack or cold pack for severe pain.