Is It Possible to Clench Your Teeth in an Effort to Make Jaw Muscles Bigger and Achieve This?

I'm just curious, I've been clenching my jaw (not very hard, just keeping it tight) since the beginning of the year and my jaw muscles seem to have grown larger, but I'm not sure if this is the factor that bears fruit, so I would like to let the professionals speak and tell their opinions.I would also like to thank in advance to every doctor for their time to answer my question.

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4 Doctor Answers | Asked by alexandercruz91

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Jaw muscles grow from clenching

The muscles of the jaw are just like other skeletal muscles and will grow with repeated flexing. Clenching the jaw flexes those muscles.

Widening The Appearance of Your Jaw

There is no doubt that clenching your teeth will exercise the muscles and in time they will build bulk. There are a number of muscles that you use to close your jaw. This includes the temporalis, masseter, and two more muscles on the other side of the jaw bone from where the masseter is (the pteregoids). The temporalis is the most powerful of the group. Both the temporalis and masseter may exhibit visible changes with exercise since they are just... more

Jaw clenching

I think it is possible that by clenching your jaw more that you can see the muscle get bigger. The main jaw muscle (the masseter) can get bigger by working it out, just as the arm muscle (bicep), for example, would if you worked it out more. I wouldn't necessarily recommend clenching the jaw a lot though, as this can lead to other potential problems, such as issues with TMJ (the jaw joint).

Jaw clenching can bulk up the lower cheek muscles

The lower cheek can be wider over time as the muscles hypertrophy related to chronic clenching. The masseter muscles are often seen to enlarge with chronic clenching and some patients see doctors for the off-label use of Botox injections to thin out this mass. The information provided in Dr. Shelton's answer is for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice. The information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with a... more