Prevention

Prevent jaw injuries

Avoiding jaw injuries is as simple as avoiding excessive forces into the jaws. It is possible to develop muscle contraction forces of sufficient strength to damage components of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs).
Learn more: Glossary › Temporomandibular joint

Frequent chewing of hard or sticky foods (e.g. "jawbreakers", ice, hard candies, certain energy bars, breads, bagels, etc.) endangers not only the teeth, but the jaw joints themselves. Avoidance of, or softening of these foods before eating them is protective.

Clenching or grinding the teeth also places excessive functional demands on the jaw joints and can damage them. Grinding (or "bruxing") also causes the biting surfaces of the teeth to wear away, and cause the jaws to close down farther than normal (called "loss of vertical dimension of occlusion"). When this happens, a shortening of the closing muscles of the jaws occurs, and the contraction forces they are capable of generating increases. This increases the forces on the TMJs, and can increase the level of damage that occurs.
Learn more: Diagnoses › Bruxism
Learn more: Diagnoses › Temporomandibular joint dysfunction

If you are a bruxer during waking hours, you should make a conscious effort to stop the habit. If you brux while you sleep, and cannot eliminate the factors that cause the condition, your dentist can make you an occlusal guard to protect the teeth, jaw muscles and jaw joints.
Learn more: Procedures › Occlusal guards

Excessive forces into the jaws can also occur via trauma. A sharp blow to the chin may be sustained in motor vehicle accidents or athletic activities, and the forces may be transferred into the joints, causing damage to one or both of them. Wearing a helmet specific to your activity can provide protection to the jaws that take into account the risk of the activity (e.g. full-face motorcycle helmets, hockey, lacrosse and football helmets all afford substantial protection to the bones of the face, the mandible, and the TMJs).