Recently, i have noticed that when i open my mouth, i can hear a clicking noise in my jaw, on the right hand side, this has existed for a long time. However, i want to chew gum in order to build up the strength of my masseter muscles (jaw muscles) to help improve my resting lower jaw position. I have tried chewing large bolus's of gum and it is completely painless, even after hard chewing for an hour, but i'am still worried as i don't want to aggravate any underlying temporomandibular joint disorder. Is it safe to continue chewing gum? If not, what other options do i have?
Thanks for any responses :)
I've had the same concerns at times.
Yes it is a risk. The extent of the risk is what I am (or what we are) not sure about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNocCJNicrc Talks about tongue chewing. One of the first things Dr. Mew says is that the problem with chewing gum is that it can affect the TMJ issues some experience, and offers tongue chewing as an alternative. Now -- at no point in time is it stated explicitly that you can tone the masseter through this tongue chewing; however, I feel my masseter engaging if i tongue chew. The purpose of the tongue chewing was aimed at maxilla/working the inner-U, yet the outer-U seems to engage as well.
Two routes through which I perceive this issue: Continue with traditional chewing with an intent to minimize the extent to which you open your mouth
or tongue chew with the caveat that perhaps the muscle tone may or may not progress as quickly,.
Skull and Jaw Correction
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