This jaw stretch is done sitting up with a small, clean block resting between your front teeth, so your mouth stays gently open while you hold. It stretches the chewing muscles that close the jaw (masseter, temporalis and medial pterygoid). Physios sometimes add a stretch like this to home programs for a tight or stiff jaw (temporomandibular disorder, or TMD). The block only needs to part your teeth a little, and the stretch should stay mild.

How to do the jaw stretch

Sit on the edge of a bed or firm bench with your back tall, your feet resting on the floor and your hands on the bed beside you.
Open your mouth slowly and place the block between your top and bottom front teeth, in the middle of your mouth, as in the video. It should hold your teeth only a little apart.
Let your teeth rest on the block without biting into it, and keep your lips and face soft. Your head stays facing forward.
Hold for a few seconds while you breathe steadily through your nose. You should feel a mild stretch in your cheeks or just in front of your ears.
Take the block out with your fingers and close your mouth slowly.

What you should feel

A mild pull in the cheeks, at the temples or just in front of the ears. Mild tiredness in the jaw afterward is fine; pain during the hold is not.

Common mistakes

Biting down on the block instead of letting your teeth rest on it.
Choosing a block so thick that the jaw is wedged wide open.
Letting the block slide back toward your throat.
Closing quickly or clenching once the block is out.

How often

A typical range is 3 to 5 holds of 5 to 10 seconds, once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain in your jaw, face or ear that builds with each hold, or your jaw starts to catch, click painfully or lock so it will not open fully. Stop. If it stays stuck, or the pain stops you eating or drinking, get medical advice the same day from your doctor or dentist.
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.
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 calls the block a small cube, and the video does not say what it is made of. At home, pick something clean and firm that is long enough for one end to stay outside your lips, so it cannot slip back into your mouth. A small stack of wooden tongue depressors, taped together, is one option. Never use food, candy, coins or anything that could snap, crumble or be swallowed, and store it away from children.

Do the stretch sitting upright and fully awake, never lying down. If swallowing is difficult for you, leave out the block and ask your physio about another way to stretch. With loose teeth, a new filling or crown, or other recent dental work, check with your dentist before resting your teeth on anything.

The voice guide describes sitting on the edge of a bed with your legs swinging freely. In the video the feet rest on the floor and the legs stay still, which is steadier, so the steps follow the video. This stretch is close to the temporalis stretch, where the block sits between the side teeth near one corner of the mouth, and your physio will say which one suits your jaw. Start either only once gentle opening, such as jaw opening with the tongue on the roof of the mouth, feels comfortable.

If your jaw has ever got stuck open, check with your dentist or physio before you do any jaw stretch. After jaw surgery or a broken jaw, check with your surgeon before you start, and follow their plan. 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.

The TMJ disorder program explains the self-care steps that come before stretching and how the jaw exercises are staged.

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.

Jaw stretch