Alleviate TMJ/TMD Pain with These Foods

Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJ) affect the jaw muscles and the joints that connect your lower jaw to the skull. These muscles are the ones you use to speak, chew, and yawn and when TMJ occurs, it can cause discomfort and pain when you try to open and close your mouth. Here at Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics, not only can we treat TMJ, we can recommend a list of foods you should consume to alleviate your symptoms.

Your food choices vary depending on the amount of pain you’re experiencing and your ability to open your mouth, chew and swallow. For those who are able to adequately open their mouths and have minimal pain, a soft or easy chew diet will work well. If your jaw’s range of motion is limited, a soft diet that requires minimal chewing may be best. To lessen pain and other symptoms during an occurrence of TMJ, avoid eating hard foods, crunchy foods, or large foods that involve opening your mouth wide to chew.

If you experience facial pain or feel your jaw clicking when you chew certain foods, please give us a call. To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.drcynthiawong.com for more information. To schedule an appointment at Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics in Orland Park, IL, call 708-444-8341. 

TMJ/TMD Diet

Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders involve the chewing muscles and joints that connect the lower jaw to the skull. Although TMJ is an abbreviation for the muscle, you may have a TMJ disorder (TMD) if you observe jaw discomfort and tenderness or pain when opening or closing the mouth. In addition, you may also find it uncomfortable to chew. To alleviate the pain of TMD, Dr. Cynthia Wong recommends incorporating more soft foods into your diet.

Soft food gives your jaw and temporomandibular joints the opportunity to rest and heal. Some excellent (and healthy) foods to eat include cooked vegetables and fruits, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, smoothies, soup, and yogurt. If you must eat food that requires a heavy amount of chewing, we recommended chopping it up into small pieces. If you have a sweet tooth, soft cakes, cobblers and cheesecake are good things to choose from. They may not be healthy options, but they’re delicious and easy to eat!

If you experience facial pain or feel your jaw clicking when you chew certain foods, please give us a call. To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.drcynthiawong.com for more information. To schedule an appointment at Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics in Orland Park, IL, call 708-444-8341.