Self-Management Program includes education about the disorder, proprioceptive awareness, and reversing parafunctional habits, relaxation techniques, and stress management. Furthermore, patients are also consulted on changing habits, adjusting behavior, and exercising. Patients are instructed to adjust their behavior: quit harmful habits to limit pain in daily functional activities, maintain scientific sleep, maintain good head, neck, and shoulder activities, soft diet and avoid hard foods, do exercises twice a day: open mouth wide combined with cool compresses and warm compresses.

LLLT may facilitate the release of endogenous opioids, tissue repairment and cellular respiration, increase vasodilatation and pain threshold, and decrease inflammation. Diode low-energy laser machine (Sirolaser blue, Dentsply) are set the default mode according to the correct parameters before use: wavelength 660nm, energy level 2.5 J/cm2, power source 100mW. The projection head is placed perpendicular to the muscle being projected. The laser light is shone on the pain point at the beginning of the treatment, then it will shine on muscle points in turn: temporal muscle (anterior, middle, posterior), masseter muscle (upper, middle, lower), 5 points around the temporomandibular joint area (superior, anterior, lateral, posterior, posterior subcondylar). Each masticatory muscle area is treated for 20 seconds, 3 sessions /week (different days), 10 sessions total. In addition, patients are still instructed Self-Management Program as group 1.

Maxillary occlusal splints are made of hard acrylic after taking impressions of the upper dental arches, recording of centric relation (Okeson). Splints are adjusted to provide even occlusal contact during jaw closing and chewing, and canine and incisor contact during protrusive movements of the jaw. Patients are instructed to use the splint each night at least 8 hours/day for a period of 8 weeks. In addition, patients are still instructed Self-Management Program as group 1.

Self-Management Program includes education about the disorder, proprioceptive awareness and reversing parafunctional habits, relaxation techniques, and stress management. Furthermore, patients are also consulted on changing habits, adjusting behavior, and exercising. Patients are instructed to adjust their behavior: quit harmful habits to limit pain in daily functional activities, maintain scientific sleep, maintain good head, neck, and shoulder activities, soft diet and avoid hard foods, do exercises twice a day: open mouth wide combined with cool compresses and warm compresses.

The VAS (Visual Analog Scale) pain scale consists of a 10 cm long straight line (without marks), with "no pain" written at the left end and "unbearable pain" written at the right end. Patients were instructed to mark a vertical line above the horizontal line indicating the intensity of their pain. The distance from the zero point to the marker is then measured in millimeters by a caliper. Add the total score of the answers to evaluate the severity according to the following scale: ≤3.4: mild; 3.5-7.4: average; ≥ 7.5: severe

Numbers of muscle pain points are determined by the examiner using a fingertip force of 1kg to palpate the masticatory muscles: temporal muscles (anterior, middle, posterior), masseter muscles (origin, body, attachment, surrounding muscles. Before palpating , the fingertip force needs to be calibrated 3 times with a micro scale, touching each side one by one.

Maximum mouth opening (MMO) was defined asthe maximal interincisal distance on unassisted active mouth opening when the patient opens his mouth maximally without feeling pain. Use a ruler with mm value.

Numbers of supplemental muscle pain points are determined by the examiner using a fingertip force of 1kg to palpate the masticatory muscles: temporal muscles (anterior, middle, posterior), masseter muscles (origin, body, attachment, surrounding muscles. Before palpating , the fingertip force needs to be calibrated 3 times with a micro scale, touching each side one by one.

Ask the patient to open slightly, and to move his or her jaw as far as he/she can to the right, even if it is painful. Measure from the maxillary reference midline to the mandibular reference midline.