Jaw Fatigue

[drjuliushibbert]

Ive had terrible jaw fatigue the last couple times I went diving. Yesterday I was in a NC quarry. The dive was cold and a little strenous but nothing too bad. I have a Mares reg that I have enjoyed previously but the jaw fatigue is getting worse. I am sure this has been talked about a length on these boards but I didn't see a recent thread on the subject - will a mouth piece change fix my problem?

 

[ScubaSteve]

RELAX

RELAX

RELAX

IMHO The problem is that you are clenching down on your reg mouthpiece and you really do not have to. Just relax your mouth and let your teeth fall on the mouth piece but not clench on it. The mouthpiece will stay in place, air will flow and the jaw fatigue will go away.

 

[Peter_C]

A Sea-Cure mouthpiece helped me get passed the sore jaw syndrome.

 

[Doubler]

You might want to think about changing to MIFLEX Hoses. My wife used to get jaw fatigue, changing to the MIFLEX hoses eliminated it.

Jim

 

[ronbeau]

Ive had terrible jaw fatigue the last couple times I went diving. Yesterday I was in a NC quarry. The dive was cold and a little strenuous but nothing too bad. I have a Mares reg that I have enjoyed previously but the jaw fatigue is getting worse. I am sure this has been talked about a length on these boards but I didn't see a recent thread on the subject - will a mouth piece change fix my problem?

My wife has TMJ and she has no problems with jaw fatigue using the Atomic swivel hose on the Atomic B2 regulator.

The Atomic swivel hose is sold separately and can be used with almost any regulator. My daughter uses the Atomic swivel hose on her ScubaPro MK25SA/S600 regulator.

 

[bigken462]

RELAX.

Sea-Cure mouthpiece

MIFLEX Hoses

Excellent advice. Should you ever decide to swap to a long hose, be sure to reconsider the sea-cure, or at least verify that the mouth piece can fit into your buddies mouth properly for air share. Long hose stuff is for another day, however what these guys offer here is good advice.

Swivels may offer some help, just be careful of adding failure points into your rig system. Also, what's not been mentioned yet, is to make sure you are using a proper hose length for your primary. You need to be able to turn your head comfortably w/o having to tug on the hose to get slack. Look your first stage over to ensure all the hoses are attached at the suitable points on the first stage to maximize the contour of your body. Some first stages offer better attachment ports than others.

Dive safe,

Kenny

 

[almitywife]

i would agree with the above about mouthpieces... it took me a while to find a mouthpiece i was happy with and now if i use another set of regs i really notice the jaw fatigue

goodluck!

 

[teddyg04]

Another possible help is the ComfiBite mouthpiece. It fits against the roof of the mouth behind the teeth, rather than using more traditional bitewing style mouthpiece. That and Miflex hoses helped resolve my jaw fatigue. I did numerous hour-long dives in Bermuda in June (woohoo!!!), and it took a week for the discomfort to go away.

 

[friscuba]

Is your number of logged dives and your number of years certified accurate in your profile? If so, that'd probably explain the jaw fatigue. I'm not trying to be critical... my first year of diving, say 35 dives or so, my jaw hurt for a day after diving and I went through a mouth piece in that time. My next mouthpiece lasted me maybe 150 dives and my jaw didn't hurt. I've only used maybe 2-3 mouthpieces since and I'm pushing 2K dives. I'm using a 3.95 mouthpiece these days.

ScubaSteve001 (same first name, but we're unrelated) is exactly right... relax... and not that that's easy to do. It'll come in time if you get some frequency. Most people initially bite down on the mouthpiece, when all's you really need to do is just keep your mouth somewhat closed. I'm not sure that spending extra $ on a fancy mouthpiece will fix the fatigue overnight, it might help, or it just might be that you might be making the purchase at about the time you start to relax on the bite.

Good luck, and keep divin'.

 

[drjuliushibbert]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Yes my dive profile is correct. I am still a beginner. I have just 17 dives now. I feel very comfortable in the water but I am sure that I am biting down pretty hard perhaps subconsciously. This latest dive was in a quarry where it was getting dark and cold at depth and I was likely biting down more vigorously at that time. I was initially going to try and get one of the new mouthpieces but I think I'll just try and relax as has been suggested. I am guessing, though, that a new mouth piece might be helpful, particularly in situations with current where out of necessity you would have to bite done to keep your reg in your mouth. I had not thought about hoses either but I think that I have enough slack on mine for the time being.

As a new diver this board is awesome. Thanks to the more experienced folks for helping us newer folks out!