gentle jaw

About Us

The gentle jaw® was conceived and developed by Dr. Rich Hirschinger, a dentist who is board-certified in orofacial pain. Unlike traditional dentistry, orofacial pain focuses on diagnosing and managing pain in the jaw, face, head, and neck—without treating teeth.

Dr. Hirschinger specializes in treating acute and chronic jaw pain, muscle-related TMJ symptoms, headaches, facial nerve pain, and other complex pain conditions affecting the head and neck.

A Personal Path to Pain Management

Dr. Hirschinger’s commitment to pain care is deeply personal. After being seriously injured in a car accident, he required spinal fusion surgery to control severe back pain. Not long afterward, his mother was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, a debilitating facial nerve pain condition.

These experiences sparked a drive to better understand chronic pain and its treatment. That journey led him to complete a two-year, full-time residency at the UCLA Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic, where he received advanced training in non-surgical pain management.

Rethinking “TMJ” Pain

In his Beverly Hills private practice, Dr. Hirschinger noticed a consistent pattern:
Most patients arrived complaining of “TMJ pain,” yet careful diagnosis often revealed the true source to be overworked or tight jaw muscles—not the joint itself.

This distinction matters. Muscle-related jaw pain responds best to conservative, reversible treatments, rather than aggressive dental procedures or surgery.

The Missing Piece: Simple Jaw Muscle Stretching

Through years of clinical experience, Dr. Hirschinger recognized that regular, gentle, passive stretching of the jaw muscles could significantly reduce pain and improve function for many patients.

However, there was a problem.

There was no simple, accurate, and affordable device that allowed people to perform jaw stretches correctly, safely, and conveniently throughout the day—especially outside a clinical setting.

The Birth of gentle jaw®

To solve this problem, Dr. Hirschinger developed the gentle jaw, a passive stretching device—a tool designed to put effective jaw care directly in patients' hands.

  • Easy to use

  • Portable and discreet

  • Requires just 30 seconds every couple of hours

  • Designed for comfort, accuracy, and consistency

The gentle jaw empowers people to take control of their jaw health with a science-based, non-invasive approach.

It’s yoga for the jaw®.

}