Expert Advice: Cutting the risk of developing TMJ

Host Amber Smith: Here's some expert advice from doctor of physical therapy Scott Hoskins from Upstate Medical University. What can people do to reduce their risk of developing temporomandibular joint dysfunction, or TMJ?

Scott Hoskins: The easiest things are:

-- Minimize excessive chewing. So if you're somebody who is constantly chewing gum throughout the day, chewing on pens and pencils, things like that, try and minimize that, if you can.

-- Being aware of your posture -- if you're always in a slouched or forward-head position, that affects the mechanics of the jaw. So being more aware of your posture, sitting up straight, keeping your shoulders back.

-- Stress management is a big thing. If you're somebody who's always tense and holding your shoulders up, that's going to affect all the muscles in the front of your neck and your jaw. And everything's just going to be sort of tight. So stress management is a huge thing.

-- As much as you can, nighttime behavior modification. So if you're somebody who clenches her teeth or grinds her teeth while you sleep, possibly get a mouth guard, which your dentist will be able to provide, can be helpful and minimize that extra stress on the jaw throughout the night. It can be kind of a hard fix, but if you can make this your habit, it can be very beneficial. There is something that we call the resting position of the jaw. When you're not using your mouth for eating or talking or whatever, you want your habit to be, to keep your lips together, keep your teeth slightly apart and then have your tongue just gently relaxed on the roof of your mouth. So that is the position where there's the least stress on it -- the joint -- so the more you can make that your habit, the less stress there is on the TMJ.

Host Amber Smith: You've been listening to doctor of physical therapy Scott Hoskins from Upstate Medical University.