These exercises are useful in helping to break certain parafunctional mouth habits.
- Nocturnal/daytime bruxing.
- Clenching.
- Tongue thrusting.
- Cheek chewing.
- “Busy” mouth habits/movements.
For daytime bruxing/clenching:
Acknowledge you do it.
Learn to recognise when you do it.
Learn to recognise the potential situations.
Exercise 1:
With mouth closed in normal closed position, press your tongue up behind you upper front teeth. This will give you purchase without the workload going onto your Temporomandibular joint or your muscles of mastication.
With practice you will automatically enter into these potential grinding/clenching situations doing this exercise.
For tongue thrusting/cheek biting/”busy” mouth movements:
Exercise 2:
Close your mouth in its normal closing position and then very slightly open your teeth within your closed mouth. Do this as often as you remember in the day. Done often enough, this exercise and wearing your bite freeing splint (if appropriate) will eventually replace the parafunctional habits by learning this new, less destructive one.
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