CHATTERING TEETH

Myofunktional Exercise  Collect ion

Application:

to enlarge click picture

This exercise will be applied as a mandibula exercise for hyperactivity of the chewing muscles. It mainly affects the adductors and here especially the Temporalis (Anatomy: 1.6, Area VII, Page 31).

Contents:

Tone reduced MOTILITY-EXERCISE.

Materials:

Not requested. (Teeth)

Procedure:

- Previous exercises: Not imperative; useful for the centring of the mandible will be the ,DRAWER-IN’-EXERCISE . Directly before taking up the start position the therapist should perform the ,TAP-TAP’-EXERCISE to loosen the chewing musculature.

Starting position: Recommended the ,L-M’-POSITION.

- Step-by-step-description:

-1 The patient is asked to try letting go the mouth muscles together with cheeks and mouth base as in the exercise  ,L-M’-POSITION. The tongue tip should stay at the POINT to help centring the mandible.

-2 the patient settles the molars on each other and positions the finger tips of digit and middle finger on the cheeks just above the jaw angle. When biting together more strongly, as in the MASSETER EXERCISE he will feel the muscle belly swelling. Now, during the following training, he will have to try not to let the muscle venter come up.

-3 Now the patient will practically reproduce the previously executed   ,TAP-TAP’-EXERCISE

Without a manipulation by jerking the mandible softly up feeling the concurrent tapping together of the dental bows. Immediately the jaw opens again and instantly will again be clapped shut and so on.

- Timing:

-Timing: The training sequence gets a frequency beat through the opening and shutting. The ‘clapping’ frequency should be rather high without straining, about four motions per second. The extent of the sequence is defined by counting out which will be done in the mode: one-and / two-and/…..thus accelerating the frequency.

With this high frequency its may be recommendable to do two claps on the number and two (double-click) on the following “and” or pictorially: ÝÝ ‘one - ÝÝ ‘and’ -  ÝÝ ‘two - ÝÝ ‘and - ÝÝ ‘three - ÝÝ ‘and – and so on.

It should be counted up to fifty.

To form an ALTERNATIVE EXERCISE

series the mentioned  ,TAP-TAP’-EXERCISE’may be recommended.

Characteristics:

Motility, tone lowering, isotonic kinetic.

Remarks:

It should strictly be observed to perform the tapping easily and freely avoiding any tensing up; the touch of the teeth against each other is very slightly and the opening width remote.

Discussion:

The training goal and carry-out of the exercise discussed resembles the EASY NODDING. The work-out tries by its limited motion width and strength to activate as few muscle fibres as possible at a time to train the muscle into an ergonomic movement type.

When teaching the exercise the therapist should monitor the strength of the muscle actions of Masseter and Temporalis by lying on of the fingertips.

The patient should be hinted at the notable difference between the teeth clapping in this exercise and the one occurring with shivering or fear meaning, that the surrounding musculature (cheek, mouth floor – as described above) will not be strained while the chewing muscles just strain as much as to achieve the tilt-up of the mandible.

Instructions:

If you feel cold and purportedly when being frightened you might, out of the mere stress,  start a teeth clatter. Here the teeth clapping should serve for a relaxation.

This requires minding your muscle tone. This may be firstly done by trying to relax every single muscle; to be on the save side we will built in a control.

If you put your fingertips on your skin of the cheek at the back of the jaw directly above the jaw angle you will feel when the muscle belly of the chewing muscle is swelling when working. But as it should not strain you must take care that the belly will mostly not be felt swelling up.

Let the mouth stay open slightly. The tongue tip sits easily on its favourite SPOT.

Now you clap your teeth very slightly up and together and immediately let go again.

Well, and again and again clap and open and clap and shut in very tiny movements. Nothing is strained, everything stays loose and the clapping runs fast.

To know when you will stop again just go counting up with: taptap-one, taptap -and, taptap -two, taptap -and, taptap -three, taptap -and…… and so on up to fifty or as long, as we have agreed on