Bryanna-need question
 

Where exactly is the masseter muscle inside the cheek? If I run my finger to the inside of the mouth top of inside cheek by the top of the gum" I find a very very sore spot is this the muscle and how would you suggest massaging this muscle, I have the teeth clenching, eye twitching, have had a wet eye for months I am thinking this muscle may be the cause of these problems. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you. The other side of the mouth has no pain.

Hi pennye,

That sounds like the location of part of the masseter muscle. The soreness indicates a spasm in the muscle. It is difficult to massage that muscle yourself without making it feel more sore.

It may be helpful to apply moist heat for about 20 minutes on the outside of your face over that area as that can help break up the spasm. Do this especially before you go to sleep at night. Also resting the jaw is actually very helpful at releasing the spasm. This means eat a soft food diet, nothing chewing or sticky that would require a lot of jaw movement. Do not open your jaw wide and be mindful if you are clenching your teeth during the day. If you are... stop yourself when you notice it. Do you wear a night guard?

Sometimes chiropractic care is helpful. Some people take anti inflammatory drugs like motrin or advil especially just before bed time. Others use homeopathy like apis or arnica pellets.

Thank you for your reply. I have been putting pressure on the sore spots for 30 seconds and massaging down the muscle. This pain has been for over 6 months, shockingly today is day 3 of the pressure and massage and the eye twitching has stopped and the excessive eye tearing is gone, the heavy jaw feeling is the same though. I was looking at a tmj massage clinic but the visits are tooo high $180.00 per visit. None of this happened until the tooth 4 extraction and my mouth has never been the same. I can keep doing what I am doing until I can figure out where I can go that isn't an arm and a leg. Yes to the teeth clenching I catch myself in the day only because the pain is instant in that muscle. I wear a night guard also. I will look into trying to find a place to go. This muscle that I am touching is pretty high up there I am happy I found the source of pain and the source of a constant eye twitch and a constant wet eye, just wish the heavy jaw would go away, who knows its still early yet.