The seated teeth clench is a short jaw exercise. Sitting upright, you bring your teeth together firmly, without grinding them, hold for a moment, then let the jaw go loose. The muscles that close the jaw (masseter and temporalis) do the work, and you can feel them harden at the cheek and the temple. It is not an exercise for jaw pain: with a TMJ problem, the usual advice is to keep your teeth apart, so check with your physio or dentist first if your jaw hurts.

How to do the seated teeth clench

Sit upright on a chair with your feet flat, your hands resting on your thighs and your face relaxed.
Bring your teeth together and press them firmly but comfortably, well short of your hardest bite. Keep the jaw still, with no grinding or sliding from side to side.
In the video his lips draw back as he bites, so the closed teeth show. Your lips can do the same or stay relaxed.
Hold for about 2 seconds, as in the video, breathing through your nose.
Let go completely: the teeth part slightly, the jaw hangs loose and the lips rest together. Wait a few seconds before the next clench.

What you should feel

Firm work at the sides of the face and at the temples during the clench, then a loose, heavy feeling in the jaw as you let go. Your teeth and the joint just in front of your ear should not hurt.

Common mistakes

Biting as hard as you can.
Grinding the teeth or shifting the jaw sideways while you clench.
Holding your breath, or tensing your neck and shoulders along with the jaw.
Staying clenched between repetitions instead of letting the teeth part.

How often

A typical range is 5 to 10 short clenches of 2 to 5 seconds, once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain in your jaw, face, teeth or ear, or the jaw clicks painfully, catches or locks. Stop. If the pain or clicking does not settle soon after you stop, you cannot open your mouth fully, the jaw stays stuck or the pain stops you eating or drinking, get medical or dental advice the same day.
Your mouth gets stuck open and will not close, or your jaw feels out of place and your teeth no longer meet as they did. Go to an emergency department straight away, supporting your jaw gently with your hand, and do not drive yourself. Call emergency services if you also find it hard to breathe.
A tooth, filling or crown feels loose, chipped or sore when you bite. Stop clenching and book a dental check.
Things look double, your vision suddenly blurs or goes, your speech slurs or becomes muddled, swallowing becomes hard, your face or lips go numb, one side of your face droops or one side of your body goes weak or numb, you suddenly become so dizzy or unsteady that you fall or cannot stand or walk, your legs suddenly give way but you do not black out (a drop attack), or you get a sudden severe headache. Stop and call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Jaw, neck, shoulder or arm pain that comes with chest pain or tightness, sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, or that comes on when you exert yourself, feel stressed or go out in the cold and does not ease within a few minutes of rest. Call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly with rest and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked.

From the clinic

The voice guide gives one instruction: close the jaws firmly without grinding. The video pairs each clench with a full release, the same tense then let go pattern used in facial muscle relaxation and progressive muscle relaxation for the thighs. The release is the part to take your time over. Notice how different a loose jaw feels, with the teeth slightly apart. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every hold and never hold your breath.

If you have jaw pain, clicking or a jaw joint problem (TMD), leave this exercise out unless your physio or dentist has given it to you. The NHS advice for TMD is not to clench your teeth, and to keep them apart except when you are eating (NHS temporomandibular disorder). For a sore jaw, the TMJ disorder program starts with relaxation and keeping the jaw loose instead. If you grind your teeth at night, have loose or sensitive teeth, or have had recent dental work such as a new crown or filling, check with your dentist first. After jaw surgery or a broken jaw, check with your surgeon before you start, and follow their plan.

If one side of your face is weak from Bell's palsy or another facial nerve problem, only do this if a specialist facial therapist has advised it, and keep your lips relaxed, because strong face movements such as drawing the lips back hard can encourage unwanted linked movements (synkinesis) while the nerve recovers. After a stroke that left your face weak, check with your stroke team first. If one side of your face is already weak from Bell's palsy or an earlier stroke, and a doctor has checked it, that known droop is not a new sign. New drooping on the other side, weakness that suddenly gets worse, and every other sign in the stop list still mean calling emergency services, even if they go away.

New, frequent headaches with pain or tenderness at your temples or on your scalp, or, if you are 50 or over, new jaw aching that comes on as you chew or talk and eases when you stop, need medical advice the same day, as they can be signs of inflamed arteries in the head (giant cell arteritis). If your vision changes, call emergency services.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Seated teeth clench