Can Microcurrent Help TMJ or Jaw Clenching
Medically reviewed by
4 independent reviewers
Andrew Conrad Barile, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | Licensed Physical Therapist (PT) | CEO and Founder, Xtreem Pulse LLC
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Dr. Andrew Conrad Barile is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the CEO and Founder of Xtreem Pulse LLC, the engineering company behind PureLift. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and is a licensed physical therapist.
He brings over two decades of clinical and entrepreneurial experience across physical therapy, craniosacral therapy and medical device innovation, built on a working knowledge of human anatomy and muscle physiology.
For PureLift LAB he reviews how current is delivered across all ten levels, from sub-sensory nanocurrent and skin-level microcurrent to motor-level EMS, and how the Infuse pass fits into the same ten-minute routine.
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Board-Certified Physician, Dartmouth Medical School | Medical Director, Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic
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Dr. Bertica M. Rubio is a board-certified physician and Medical Director of the Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic in Redlands, California. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and completed her pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center.
With decades of clinical experience, she specialises in age management medicine, regenerative medicine, wound healing and growth factor therapies, and her practice integrates evidence-based medical science with advanced aesthetic treatment.
For PureLift LAB she reviews articles for medical accuracy across the whole dial, from the gentle nanocurrent and microcurrent settings through to muscle-level EMS and the Infuse pass.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Otolaryngologist | Head and Neck Surgeon | Fellow, American College of Surgeons | Mount Sinai
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Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon at ENT and Allergy Associates in West Nyack, New York. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He completed his otolaryngology residency at New York University Medical Center, serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
For PureLift LAB he brings a wider clinical lens, connecting at-home facial stimulation from microcurrent to EMS to the anatomy underneath, with the same rigour we apply to every device specification.
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann
Chair of Angiology, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg | Clinic Director, University Clinic for Angiology
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Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann is Chair of Angiology at the Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane and Clinic Director of the University Clinic for Angiology at the Brandenburg University Hospital.
He trained at the University of Hamburg, was a Max Planck Society Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, and held senior consultant posts at the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin before his appointment as Chair in 2016.
One of Europe's leading authorities on arteriogenesis, with over 150 peer-reviewed publications and US and EU patents, he reviews for PureLift LAB how the evidence on electrical stimulation is read and where its limits lie.
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No facial toning device is a treatment for temporomandibular disorder, and the muscle most involved in clenching is one you should not be trying to strengthen.
This article sets out what to check before you start, such as:
- what TMD actually is and who treats it
- why the masseter is the wrong muscle to build
- what facial devices are and are not cleared for
- what does help with jaw tension
- how to use a facial device safely if you clench
and many more!
If your jaw hurts, clicks or locks, the person to see is a dentist or a specialist rather than a device brand.
Key Points:
Temporomandibular disorder is a clinical condition involving the joint, the muscles or both, and it is diagnosed and treated by dentists and specialists.
Facial devices are cleared for cosmetic facial stimulation, not for pain or joint conditions, and no brand should be selling one as a TMD treatment.
The masseter is usually overworked in people who clench, so strengthening it is the opposite of what is wanted.
Percussion massage, which we do not make, is the device category with the most plausible claim on muscular jaw tension.
Persistent jaw pain, clicking, locking or headaches on waking warrant a professional assessment.
What TMD actually is
Temporomandibular disorder covers a family of problems involving the jaw joint, the muscles that move it, or both, with symptoms ranging from aching and clicking to limited opening and headaches.
Causes are usually multiple, and clenching or grinding, often at night, is among the most common contributors.
It is diagnosed and managed by dentists, oral medicine specialists, maxillofacial surgeons and physiotherapists who work with the jaw.
None of those people is a beauty brand, and the distance between a cosmetic facial device and a joint disorder is larger than the shared location suggests.
Why building the masseter is the wrong goal
The masseter is the thick muscle at the angle of the jaw used for chewing, and it is the muscle most implicated in clenching.
In someone who clenches, that muscle is already working far more than it should, often through the night.
Applying stimulation intended to build muscle to a muscle that is chronically overworked is the wrong direction of travel, and it can also widen the lower face, which is usually the opposite of the cosmetic goal.
This is why we are unenthusiastic about jaw-training gadgets that deliberately load the masseter, a point we make in our muscle chart.
What these devices are cleared for
Facial microcurrent and EMS devices are cleared under indications that read, in substance, facial stimulation for over-the-counter cosmetic use.
That sentence is the whole of what the clearance covers. Nothing in it addresses pain, joint function or muscle disorders.
So a brand marketing a facial toning device as a TMJ treatment is making a claim outside its clearance, and you should treat everything else on that page with the same suspicion.
Ours are cleared under K190269, K230506, K221443 and K243587, on the same cosmetic basis, and we make no pain claim of any kind.
What does help
Professional assessment first, because a splint, a bite adjustment or physiotherapy addresses causes that no home device touches.
Percussion massage has the most plausible claim among consumer devices for muscular jaw tension specifically, and Therabody's TheraFace PRO is the obvious example. We do not make a percussion device and have no stake in recommending one.
Heat, gentle stretching and stress management are all part of standard advice, and they are boring for the same reason they are recommended.
Botulinum toxin into the masseter is a recognised medical approach for severe clenching, administered by clinicians rather than at home.
Using a facial device if you clench
If you clench and you want a facial device for cosmetic reasons, that is a perfectly reasonable purchase, provided you are clear it is not treating the clenching.
Work the jawline along the platysma beneath the jawbone rather than over the belly of the masseter.
Keep the level lower over the jaw angle than elsewhere, because an already tight muscle responds to stimulation differently.
If a session leaves your jaw aching or brings on a headache, stop, and read our article on headaches after a session.
When to get help rather than a device
Jaw pain that wakes you, clicking that is new, any locking or catching of the jaw, or headaches that are worst on waking.
Pain that is spreading, or any change in how your teeth meet.
Any of those warrants a dentist rather than a purchase, and the purchase will still be there afterwards.
We would rather lose the sale than have someone treat a joint disorder with a cosmetic device.
This article sits inside our full map of the category, where we set out all 33 devices we track, what each one carries and what each brand publishes: Nine Technologies on One Dial, What the Rest of the Market Actually Carries.