Can Tongue Position Help Jaw Tension?
You may have a good idea why your jaw is in tension. For example, you clench and you’re sure that stress plays a part. Or it started after dental work or a whiplash injury.
On the other hand, you may have no idea at all.
Either way, it is likely distressing and draining — and you are probably looking for ways to naturally calm things down.
One of the best places to start is actually the simplest — where the tongue is resting.
A Simple Observation
Pause for a moment and get a sense of what is currently happening in your mouth.
Where are your upper teeth in relation to your lower teeth? Apart? Lightly touching? Jammed together?
What is the sensation in your jaw muscles? Soft and supple, or tense and painful?
And where is your tongue? Not sure? Moving about? Resting on the floor of the mouth, or on the palate?
Can tongue position help jaw tension? In this article we’ll look at why tongue position may influence jaw tension and what the best tongue placement may be to help relieve tension.
I’ll also compare what the evidence says about tongue position with the actual lived experience of my TMJ clients.
One Key Reason the Jaw Stays in Tension
The tongue and jaw are not independent structures — they are so connected that they influence each other constantly.
The tongue connects to the lower jaw through a group of muscles beneath the chin, which also interact with the throat and neck. Because of this, the tongue’s activity level directly affects how active the jaw muscles need to be. When the tongue is pressing, pushing, or simply unsettled, the jaw muscles tend to co-activate — staying slightly switched on in response.
Those habits you may have just noticed — teeth touching, tongue pressing against the teeth, sitting low in the mouth — are rarely deliberate. They develop gradually through tension, stress, or joint sensitivity. But the jaw notices.
Think of the game Operation. The moment the tweezers touch the sides, the buzzer fires. When the tongue is constantly pressing or unsettled, the jaw muscles are in that same state of alert — ready to fire at the slightest trigger. Give the tongue a stable place to rest, and the buzzer finally goes quiet.
When the tongue finds its correct resting place, the jaw muscles get the signal that they can stand down. Not through effort or forcing, but simply because they are no longer being triggered constantly.
This is particularly true for people who clench, and for those with hypermobile joints or connective tissue sensitivity. When joints are less stable, the body relies more heavily on muscle activity to feel secure. A settled tongue position can offer the nervous system a quiet reference point — and that small input is sometimes enough to meaningfully reduce the tension the jaw has been holding.
The Restful Mouth: A Right Place for Everything
So how can tongue position help jaw tension? To keep the mouth in a restful state, it helps to consider how its contents — particularly the tongue — are arranged. It’s a bit like Feng Shui of the mouth!
Try this simple natural arrangement
- The lips gently closed
- The teeth slightly apart
- The tongue resting lightly on the roof of the mouth
If your day to day experience is that of your teeth being in close contact all the time, this may feel quite different — this simple arrangement is going to give them some more space to let go and chill.
This natural arrangement is sometimes called the physiological rest position of the jaw — and when it’s present, the jaw muscles can just have a little rest.
What Experts Say — and What I See in Practice
Is there evidence that tongue position helps jaw tension? Most TMJ specialists and orofacial therapists recommend resting the tongue on the roof of the mouth as part of jaw care. It is widely taught and consistently advised, but it is hard to find strong evidence that backs this up.
There are studies that confirm tongue position affects jaw muscle activity. For example, Takahashi et al. (2005) measured tension levels in the key chewing muscles and found that where the tongue rests does make a difference.
A later study by Valdés et al. (2014) looked at the same question but found that during clenching, resting the tongue on the floor of the mouth — not the palate — produced lower muscle activity. Whilst the two studies don’t agree, most clinicians appear to recommend resting the tongue on the palate.
It is also worth noting that both studies were conducted on healthy young adults with no jaw symptoms whatsoever. The connection between tongue position and jaw tension is real and plausible — but research in people who actually have jaw tension or TMD does not yet appear to exist.
What I can tell you is what I see in practice. In my experience working with people with jaw tension, a stable tongue position is one of the simplest and most consistently helpful things people can explore.
Only this week, I heard back from a client who had a history of clenching day and night. She had tried resting her tongue on the palate for just the last week and the tension in her jaw had almost entirely gone — she couldn’t remember the last time it had felt like that.
Should you give it a go? What I say to my clients about all self-care ideas is — try it for a few weeks. If you feel it helps calm the tension, keep it in your self-care toolbox. If you see no difference, or your symptoms appear to get worse, then ditch it. It is simple, free, and completely non-invasive. There is very little to lose by exploring it.
Some Help to Unclench First
If your jaw is already clenched, finding the resting position can feel difficult — there’s simply no space to settle into yet. A simple trick is to softly say the word “Emma” three times. On the “ah” sound at the end, the jaw releases just enough to let go of the clench without forcing anything open.
Once you’ve said your three Emmas, bring the lips together gently, let the teeth remain slightly apart, and allow the tongue to rest lightly on the roof of the mouth.
Many people find that doing both — the Emma technique followed by settling the tongue into its resting position — a few times during the day, particularly during moments of stress or concentration, helps gradually release jaw tension overall.
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Every jaw is different. If you’d like personalised guidance, you’re welcome to get in touch.
When to Seek Medical Advice
Most jaw tension and TMD symptoms are related to muscle guarding, stress, or nervous-system patterns, and they often improve well with gentle self-care.
It’s a good idea to seek medical advice if you experience:
sudden, severe, or unexplained facial or jaw pain
injury, swelling, or suspected dislocation
numbness, weakness, or changes in vision or speech
a fever, illness, or signs of infection
new pain accompanied by weight loss or general unwellness
persistent symptoms that worry you or don’t improve over time
These situations aren’t common, but it’s always appropriate to check in with a qualified medical professional if something feels unusual or concerning for you.