Foods to avoid:

If you are experiencing jaw (TMJ) pain and headaches, you may find it helpful to avoid the following food types:

• Foods that require you to open your mouth wide such as bread rolls, apples (uncut) etc.
• Foods that are hard to bite into which require a lot of force like carrots, hard nuts
• Very chewy foods requiring repetitive chewing like steak
• Chewing gum or lollies repetitively

Since we use our jaw and jaw muscles literally thousands of times a day while talking, yawning and eating, we place a lot of stress on these structures. Minimising this stress by way of modifying the types of foods you eat and favouring a softer diet will assist to help painful TMJ / jaw structures to settle down. If pain persists then please call us on (03) 9824 8868 to seek qualified advice and treatment by one of our physiotherapists experienced in managing jaw / TMJ and face pain and headaches.