1. Stick to a soft diet. Cut up your food. Do not eat chewy foods such as French bread, bagels, licorice or tough meat. Avoid crunchy foods such as nuts, raw vegetables and corn nuts. If you are experiencing a lot of pain, grind foods in a blender. Protect your jaw joint as you would other joints in your body.

2. Never chew gum. Also avoid chewing ice.

3. Do not bite your lower lip or nails, or chew on pens or pencils.

4. Avoid tongue protrusion, e.g., licking ice cream cones.

5. Do not grind or clench your teeth. Try to keep your teeth apart with your tongue gently resting against the roof of your mouth as it does when you say the word “no.”

6. Do not open your mouth wide when you yawn or eat large sandwiches.

7. Maintain good posture. Protrusion of the jaw and neck will change the position of your bite. Avoid resting your jaw in your hand.

8. Sleep on your back or on your side if this doesn’t cause pain. Stomach sleeping will put additional strain on the jaw and neck.

9. Avoid caffeine, which increases muscle tension. Also avoid cigarette smoking, which causes your jaw to protrude and creates facial muscle tightness.

10. Do not cradle the phone between your jaw and shoulder or carry uneven loads, such as heavy purses.

11. Wear sunglasses to prevent squinting of the facial muscles.

12. Exercise regularly, especially walking and swimming, to help reduce pain. Avoid exercise that causes clenching such as weight-lifting and scuba diving. Also avoid the jarring of horseback riding.

13. When pain occurs, notice which activities worsen your symptoms.

14. Learn and then practice relaxation techniques. It is well known that these can lessen pain. A stress management class can be very useful.