Should You Stifle A Yawn To Avoid Jaw Pain?
A patient with a TMJ disorder must navigate life differently than someone with a healthy jaw joint. They carefully avoid certain foods and activities they know will cause their symptoms to flare up. One thing they cannot avoid is yawning, an innocuous, involuntary action if you have a healthy jaw joint but a potential problem for someone with TMD. Yawning with TMD can exacerbate existing pain and tension, cause popping, or result in the jaw locking open, all of which are uncomfortable, to say the least. So, what should you do if you suffer from TMD and need to yawn?