Also wanted to say I take prozac and wellbutrin for my anxiety and depression. Doesn't help the cheek biting at all.
I've been at it all my life
I was reading that mercury amalgams, and heavy metals in general (from immunizations, etc.) can deplete the system of necessary nutrients like Iron , and interfere with absorption of Iron and B vitamins, magnesium etc.
Not only does this lack of B and magnesium etc. cause a LOT of stress that makes the biting worse...
But it also creates nutritional deficiencies .. lack of minerals and maybe proteins. Sort of feels like starvation.
I am aware of terrible hunger all the time I'm biting and I wonder if, because of my heavy metals or otherwise poor gut health, I am always needing minerals I cannot absorb from food or meat etc. Then my teeth are sensing all that meat and so... I self-cannabalize
The literature on heavy-metal toxicity _actually lists mouth-chewing as a symptom_ and that is why I am getting all my amalgams taken out ...
I wish you luck. This is a very hard habit to break, made it a cinch to quit smoking.
Feel free to post this info on the website. I couldn't set up an account there.
hope this, or something else, will really help you :-)
I was reading that mercury amalgams, and heavy metals in general (from immunizations, etc.) can deplete the system of necessary nutrients like Iron , and interfere with absorption of Iron and B vitamins, magnesium etc.
Not only does this lack of B and magnesium etc. cause a LOT of stress that makes the biting worse...
But it also creates nutritional deficiencies .. lack of minerals and maybe proteins. Sort of feels like starvation.
I am aware of terrible hunger all the time I'm biting and I wonder if, because of my heavy metals or otherwise poor gut health, I am always needing minerals I cannot absorb from food or meat etc. Then my teeth are sensing all that meat and so... I self-cannabalize
The literature on heavy-metal toxicity _actually lists mouth-chewing as a symptom_ and that is why I am getting all my amalgams taken out ...
I wish you luck. This is a very hard habit to break, made it a cinch to quit smoking.
Feel free to post this info on the website. I couldn't set up an account there.
hope this, or something else, will really help you :-)
Is it CONSTIPATION? holy cow, i just thought of that. I do this sooooooo much more when I am constipated. My bowels get blocked, I can't breathe perfectly, I feel restless from the constipation and somehow that sets me biting.
We are all around the same age. We were kids at the same time, getting all the heavy metals in us, and the toxins released from those metals in the mouth, cause constipation. I am realizing that I had one blissful year of NOT doing the biting. That was a year when I was getting a ton of colonic treatments. I was un-constipated for the first time in my life. And I did not bite my cheeks. God is this making any sense ?
We are all around the same age. We were kids at the same time, getting all the heavy metals in us, and the toxins released from those metals in the mouth, cause constipation. I am realizing that I had one blissful year of NOT doing the biting. That was a year when I was getting a ton of colonic treatments. I was un-constipated for the first time in my life. And I did not bite my cheeks. God is this making any sense ?
It has been a real comfort to find this site, specially to find others who are frustrated by the chronic lip biting. I must have a strong oral fixation since I recently stopped sucking my thumb. I would suck my thumb as a comfort tool esp if I had trouble falling asleep. That started at day one. And then one day I just stopped although it turned out to be 50+ years later.
Starting as a pre-teen, I would also chronically chewing my nails and cuticles. I tried acrylic nails but all I would do is pick at them. Now I use the full nail tips- they cover the whole nail bed and I can do it myself (cheaper) and somehow keeping them looking good has stopped or maybe slowed down the biting. But the lip biting hasn't stopped.
I'm not really a gum chewer. In fact I think I look worse chewing gum than chewing my lip. My dentist handed me a roll of lifesavers as a suggestion but they lasted about an hour. I've been diagnosed with chronic depression and am on a cocktail of anti-depressants. Doesn't seem to impact the biting at all!
I wish I had something to offer as a solution. I find myself clamping my lips together to prevent the biting but I think that's adding to the tension in my jaw. I had a teeth whitening kit with mouth guards and if I can't fall asleep because of the biting, I sometimes use that. IBut it makes me drool alot and haven't really found I can fall asleep with it in. It seems to stop the cycle, at least temporarily. Thanks for the chance to share. Sorry for rambling but this is the first forum where Ive found a sympathetic audience. :-)
Starting as a pre-teen, I would also chronically chewing my nails and cuticles. I tried acrylic nails but all I would do is pick at them. Now I use the full nail tips- they cover the whole nail bed and I can do it myself (cheaper) and somehow keeping them looking good has stopped or maybe slowed down the biting. But the lip biting hasn't stopped.
I'm not really a gum chewer. In fact I think I look worse chewing gum than chewing my lip. My dentist handed me a roll of lifesavers as a suggestion but they lasted about an hour. I've been diagnosed with chronic depression and am on a cocktail of anti-depressants. Doesn't seem to impact the biting at all!
I wish I had something to offer as a solution. I find myself clamping my lips together to prevent the biting but I think that's adding to the tension in my jaw. I had a teeth whitening kit with mouth guards and if I can't fall asleep because of the biting, I sometimes use that. IBut it makes me drool alot and haven't really found I can fall asleep with it in. It seems to stop the cycle, at least temporarily. Thanks for the chance to share. Sorry for rambling but this is the first forum where Ive found a sympathetic audience. :-)
I am 31 and until recently, I can't remember not biting either. I've been trying to stop for so long because I know I look stupid doing it with my lips pursed together off to the side of my face, but that knowledge wasn't enough for me to stop. It wasn't until a friend told me a couple weeks ago that you can get cancer from biting off the scars and forcing them to regrow over and over again that I finally forced myself to stop. The first week was really tough. Your mouth fills up with skin and gets loose and falls off. It's really hard not to bite it off!! It took a lot of will power. I found that the trick was to keep a leash on my tongue. As long as I wasn't feeling around my mouth, I wasn't biting. Every time I would catch myself feeling, I clenched my teeth together to make a wall and wouldn't let my tongue out of it's cage. :-)
I still catch myself feeling and even biting once in a while but now I have the ability to stop myself just because I don't want to start the whole process over again.
I hope this helps. Good Luck to all of you!!
I still catch myself feeling and even biting once in a while but now I have the ability to stop myself just because I don't want to start the whole process over again.
I hope this helps. Good Luck to all of you!!
I've been doing that forever. I've bit into my lips so far that I have holes that are a centimeter deep. I found that whenever I feel like biting on them if I put a piece of gum on my mouth or a lolipop or something always helped. To make sure I didn't want to chew anymore I would put the gum at the roof of my mouth and hold it there and see if I still had the urge to chew. Also I was diagnosed with anxiety and have found that it's worse when I'm anxious. I would stop if u could because my lips are filled with scar tissue now and I cam feel it constantly.
I do this all the time. it is horrible its such a bad habit and i wish i never started! its so gross......ugh i hate myself for doing it.
Hi! Right now while reading this I am currently doing this. I think the same exact thing. I'm scared that its gonna all of a sudden just start GUSHING blood. Some stuff that could help would be put vaseline (you can get it in your local drugstore) put a BIG blob on the affected area and it would make it less addictive. For the inside of your mouth, you can get some stuff for Kanker sores? Just place it on the inside of your mouth and itll feel numb so you will foget (hope fully)
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I'd like to kick the habit, but it's gotten to the point to where it's almost a comfort thing. I don't think it's an anxiety thing. I tend to do it when I'm lost in thought. It's gross. I know, but I like the way it sounds when I bite a piece off. I like the way it feels. However, it's destroying my teeth and of course I don't want Oral Cancer. My canines are so worn It looks like someone filed down vampire teeth so they're no longer sharp. I quit once when I was 5, but picked it back up at 7. I'm 20 now..so what's that..like, 13 years? It's not normal. I did it in front of a mirror once to see what everyone else sees. Puckered lips pushed to the side of my face..or even me pulling my cheek more toward my front teeth. Sooo attractive..not! If I could find a way to heal my cheeks so that they're no longer rugged, tempting me to gnaw at it. I'd be fine. I'm not tempted to chew on smooth skin. If anyone's found a solution. I would love, Love, LOVE to try it out.
Best of luck to my fellow "cheek chewers"
Tiffany
Best of luck to my fellow "cheek chewers"
Tiffany
I went to a psychiatrist today for this problem. I turn 60 this month and have been doing this since I was 3. More during high stress than not, but can be any time. Nothing I ever tried myself worked. It is way beyond willpower. The good news to you youngsters is that I have at least made it to 60 with this bad habit and no disease. My mother did it a lot less frequently, she is a healthy 87. My brother does it occasionally, and at least 2 of my children, undder stress, have been seen to do it occasionally. I have it the worst, but it clearly has a genetic component, in my opinion. The bad news is that the psychiatrist said it is even harder than OCD disorders to cure. He called it a "soothing behavior," like nail biting, Trichotillomania, etc. The habit can be extremely difficult to break. However, it isn't hopeless -- he prescribed Fluvoxamine (Luvox). I am beginning it today. Will report back in a few weeks if it has any effect.
I have the same problem with biting my cheeks. I also bite my nails and fingers (sometimes to the point of bleeding and infection), play with my eyelashes, shake my legs constantly, and always feel the need to lean on the table or rest my head on my hand when I'm reading or writing. My doctor has told me that these are behaviors that are all a mild form of sensory dysfunction. Here is an article that talks about Proprioception that might help you better understand. I too tried all sorts of anxiety medications and such thinking that these were symptoms of anxiety (which they can be) but none of them seemed to work for me. After my doctor explained to me about proprioceptors and the need to feel my body and the things around me, it sort of all made more sense.
I hope you find this helpful...
Proprioception
Understanding Proprioception
Everyone at one time or the other has experienced the loss of proprioception when their arm or leg "falls asleep". You may panic initially because you've lost the sense that your extremity is even connected to your body (this input comes from the sensory receptors in your joints). You can still move your extremity, but not very well. You have also lost the sensory input from your muscles that tell you what they are doing. You can "see" your arm or leg moving but can't seem to make it do what you want when you can't "feel" it.
The proprioceptors are located in your muscles and joints. Each time that you contract, squeeze, or stretch a muscle, or put weight on or stretch a joint, you stimulate the sensory receptors that tell you what your body is doing. You don't have to pay attention to this input at all (which is why most people are unaware that they even have this sense). Your brain takes it in and processes it automatically, so you only need to focus on WHAT you want to do…not how to make your body do it. There are times, though, when you become VERY aware of the senses in your muscles and joints. When you are lifting heavy objects, your muscles are likely to make you very aware of just how heavy this object is…and when you need to put it down because the muscle is getting tired. When you are jogging or jumping rope, you become very aware of the pounding feeling each time your feet contact the ground. The senses in the joints let you know if you are coming into contact with the surface safely and not too hard…so that you can make an adjustment before you twist your ankle or injure a tendon. Injuries often happen when we don't pay attention to our proprioceptors.
Imagine what it might be like to NOT get feedback from your muscles and joints…to not know what your body is doing or how to make it do what you want. Coordinating your movements would be very difficult. You would have to consciously think about controlling your movements, which would make it difficult to stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish. You couldn't even play without it being hard work…or a total disaster as your body simply moves with little coordination between intent and action. Even your speech might be garbled, since your lips and jaw and tongue are also muscles that provide proprioceptive input to allow us to clearly articulate our words…and chew our food.
It is very calming and comforting to each of us to know that our bodies can handle all the complex movements we need to get through a day, without any thought from us (unless of course you are learning a new motor action). Think about the massage that felt so good, and relaxing. That was stimulation to the proprioceptors by squeezing them. Think about that good, relaxed, feeling you have after exercise (assuming you haven't overdone it…then your muscles and joints are likely to complain quite loudly). Think about what it might be like to NOT have that good feeling about one's body. Would it make you anxious if you never felt you had control over your own body? Why is it that it always feels more stimulating when the hairdresser does your hair than when you do it? The input from the touch to your hair is stimulating. The input from your proprioceptors is calming (or supposed to be). The two together balance each other out, so you don't feel the stimulation of just the touch as much. Think what it must be like to be touched, or come into touch contact with one's environment, and NOT have the calming influence of the proprioceptors to help you modulate it so that you understand what is happening.
The proprioceptive sensory system is the least understood sense we have, but, as you can readily see, the most important to our ability to function easily and comfortably in our world.
Proprioception:
When a bug crawls on your arm, you sense it and flick it away. When your skin itches, you give the itchy place a rub or a scratch to take away the itch. When the noise level around you is too high, you move to another room in the house. When something pokes you, you move away to avoid being poked. If the sun reflects into your eyes, you shut them tightly.
We all know how to react, and what sensory or movement strategy to adopt to let ourselves feel good, or to avoid something which does not feel good.
Sometimes, we also use sensory and movement strategies which do not appear to be provoked. Imagine you’re driving your car on a busy freeway… You’ve observed appropriate following distance from the car in front of you. Suddenly, with no warning, a car pulls in directly in front of you! Reflexively, you slam on brakes and narrowly avoid crashing into him…. Your heart is pounding, you’re gasping for breath and you curse loudly. You clench your fist tightly and thump it on the steering wheel… - that feels better! Bashing things and hitting things can help us to release some pent up energy and can help our nervous systems to get back into a state of balance. Similarly, tensing muscles in your neck and jaw can help you to focus your attention more effectively on solving a difficult problem, or on executing a very delicate task. Biting your top lip as you manage a complex mental calculation can help you to figure it better. We use these and lots of other subtle (and not so subtle) sensory and motor strategies to optimize the way our bodies work.
Most of the strategies described here involve giving your hands or your mouth some extra pressure either to the skin or to the joints. The deep pressure and joint compression helps our nervous systems to organise better as we go about our day. Overuse of any of the strategies might however pose a problem. For example, if you clench your jaw or tense your neck muscles continuously, you will end up with neck tension, postural problems and possibly even temporo-mandibular joint syndrome in which the jaw becomes dysfunctional. We often see little children who end up biting on toys and on their clothing, in an effort to try to provide themselves with this organising input. This too can become a dysfunctional adjustment pattern. Biting nails, chewing pencils, grinding teeth, head banging – there is an endless list of inappropriate behaviours which were initially organising for the individual.
Sometimes, the deep pressure seeking is more subtle, and you will simply see that the individual uses more pressure or force when handling toys or objects. These children are rough and tend to be destructive with toys. As adults, they might also tend to give bigger bearhugs and to give a firmer handshake than is necessary.
I hope you find this helpful...
Proprioception
Understanding Proprioception
Everyone at one time or the other has experienced the loss of proprioception when their arm or leg "falls asleep". You may panic initially because you've lost the sense that your extremity is even connected to your body (this input comes from the sensory receptors in your joints). You can still move your extremity, but not very well. You have also lost the sensory input from your muscles that tell you what they are doing. You can "see" your arm or leg moving but can't seem to make it do what you want when you can't "feel" it.
The proprioceptors are located in your muscles and joints. Each time that you contract, squeeze, or stretch a muscle, or put weight on or stretch a joint, you stimulate the sensory receptors that tell you what your body is doing. You don't have to pay attention to this input at all (which is why most people are unaware that they even have this sense). Your brain takes it in and processes it automatically, so you only need to focus on WHAT you want to do…not how to make your body do it. There are times, though, when you become VERY aware of the senses in your muscles and joints. When you are lifting heavy objects, your muscles are likely to make you very aware of just how heavy this object is…and when you need to put it down because the muscle is getting tired. When you are jogging or jumping rope, you become very aware of the pounding feeling each time your feet contact the ground. The senses in the joints let you know if you are coming into contact with the surface safely and not too hard…so that you can make an adjustment before you twist your ankle or injure a tendon. Injuries often happen when we don't pay attention to our proprioceptors.
Imagine what it might be like to NOT get feedback from your muscles and joints…to not know what your body is doing or how to make it do what you want. Coordinating your movements would be very difficult. You would have to consciously think about controlling your movements, which would make it difficult to stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish. You couldn't even play without it being hard work…or a total disaster as your body simply moves with little coordination between intent and action. Even your speech might be garbled, since your lips and jaw and tongue are also muscles that provide proprioceptive input to allow us to clearly articulate our words…and chew our food.
It is very calming and comforting to each of us to know that our bodies can handle all the complex movements we need to get through a day, without any thought from us (unless of course you are learning a new motor action). Think about the massage that felt so good, and relaxing. That was stimulation to the proprioceptors by squeezing them. Think about that good, relaxed, feeling you have after exercise (assuming you haven't overdone it…then your muscles and joints are likely to complain quite loudly). Think about what it might be like to NOT have that good feeling about one's body. Would it make you anxious if you never felt you had control over your own body? Why is it that it always feels more stimulating when the hairdresser does your hair than when you do it? The input from the touch to your hair is stimulating. The input from your proprioceptors is calming (or supposed to be). The two together balance each other out, so you don't feel the stimulation of just the touch as much. Think what it must be like to be touched, or come into touch contact with one's environment, and NOT have the calming influence of the proprioceptors to help you modulate it so that you understand what is happening.
The proprioceptive sensory system is the least understood sense we have, but, as you can readily see, the most important to our ability to function easily and comfortably in our world.
Proprioception:
When a bug crawls on your arm, you sense it and flick it away. When your skin itches, you give the itchy place a rub or a scratch to take away the itch. When the noise level around you is too high, you move to another room in the house. When something pokes you, you move away to avoid being poked. If the sun reflects into your eyes, you shut them tightly.
We all know how to react, and what sensory or movement strategy to adopt to let ourselves feel good, or to avoid something which does not feel good.
Sometimes, we also use sensory and movement strategies which do not appear to be provoked. Imagine you’re driving your car on a busy freeway… You’ve observed appropriate following distance from the car in front of you. Suddenly, with no warning, a car pulls in directly in front of you! Reflexively, you slam on brakes and narrowly avoid crashing into him…. Your heart is pounding, you’re gasping for breath and you curse loudly. You clench your fist tightly and thump it on the steering wheel… - that feels better! Bashing things and hitting things can help us to release some pent up energy and can help our nervous systems to get back into a state of balance. Similarly, tensing muscles in your neck and jaw can help you to focus your attention more effectively on solving a difficult problem, or on executing a very delicate task. Biting your top lip as you manage a complex mental calculation can help you to figure it better. We use these and lots of other subtle (and not so subtle) sensory and motor strategies to optimize the way our bodies work.
Most of the strategies described here involve giving your hands or your mouth some extra pressure either to the skin or to the joints. The deep pressure and joint compression helps our nervous systems to organise better as we go about our day. Overuse of any of the strategies might however pose a problem. For example, if you clench your jaw or tense your neck muscles continuously, you will end up with neck tension, postural problems and possibly even temporo-mandibular joint syndrome in which the jaw becomes dysfunctional. We often see little children who end up biting on toys and on their clothing, in an effort to try to provide themselves with this organising input. This too can become a dysfunctional adjustment pattern. Biting nails, chewing pencils, grinding teeth, head banging – there is an endless list of inappropriate behaviours which were initially organising for the individual.
Sometimes, the deep pressure seeking is more subtle, and you will simply see that the individual uses more pressure or force when handling toys or objects. These children are rough and tend to be destructive with toys. As adults, they might also tend to give bigger bearhugs and to give a firmer handshake than is necessary.
I do the exact same thing...I've been doing it since I can remember. I recently started to wear an elastic on my wrist and whenever I notice myself biting I snap the elastic. It seems to be helping a little so far...if anything it makes me more conscious that I'm doing it. Hope this tip can help another cheek biter out there.
I thought I was alone on this too. I don't know how to stop it but I do know that I've been doing it since i was little. I have anxiety and do it more under stress or concentrating(haha, even did it while writing this). I figure its kinda like OCD, or being an addict, you know you're doing it and you know you shouldn't but you can't stop yourself. Hmmmm...well thats all i know... Good luck on stopping, everyone!!!
I do this too. I have been doing it since I was a kid. I do it for the same reasons that everyone else does. Once it starts healing, the skin in rough and it drives me crazy. I have premature lines around my mouth from this habit. I did stop for awhile. I wore braces as an adult and I was unable to do it. The crazy thing is, I started up again as soon as the braces were off. There seems to be a lot of people who suffer from the same problem, but no suggestions on how to stop.
Hy Everyone out there with this bad habit!
I thoght I share with you how I got there to stop it!
I was so happy I found that blog! :-))))
I have had that bad habit for years, and I even didn,t know why I was biting my cheeks. I was so shamed, and when I went to my dentist she never said a word during check ups about the abnormality in my mouth, eventough I could see the white spots and lines on my cheeks. They come off again and again, tried to heal, and because of the uneven surface I bite on it every day to get back to normal stage. So its devils circle! Your cheeks are trying to heal buliding new tissues, and you chew on it again. So annoying!
The Procedure
Take 2 days for you,
Day1. Start with corsodyl mouthwash, rinse your mouth, wait 30 minutes
Wipe off your mouth, specially the white spots and areas with dry tissues until they come off
It might take a while, don't worry, sometimes their just there for to long times
For the rest of the day rinse your mouth with warm (not hot!) herbal camomile tea so every hour or two. You can keep the tea in your mouth every time for few minutes as well.
It gives your cheeks a relief, evens out the rough surface, and heals inflamed gums and mouth tissue
You can drink a nice cup of herbal camomile tea or two for your nerves, it has a good calming effect
Day2. If you still have white areas in your mouth and/or rough surface, repeat the procedure again
The good thing is in that procedure, you are concentrating on the healing of your cheeks, so you have more chance not to chew on it.
It takes 2 or 3 days to have the final result. Nice smooth "new" cheeks!
Continue the herbal camomile tea rinse for another few days until the inflammation is gone. You can combine with morning-evening corsodyl or listerine mouthwash.
I was so happy after two days, that I have nice cheeks, I couldn't stop looking at, and I really take care of it for the future!
You sould really avoid during procedure:
Chewing your cheeks
Smoking
Hot, spicy food
Wine or alcoholic drink
Please note! If you have serious white marks or spots, that won't come off in few days or any other mutation you should consult your oral surgeon.
Hope that helps, fingers crossed for you guys! :-D
I thoght I share with you how I got there to stop it!
I was so happy I found that blog! :-))))
I have had that bad habit for years, and I even didn,t know why I was biting my cheeks. I was so shamed, and when I went to my dentist she never said a word during check ups about the abnormality in my mouth, eventough I could see the white spots and lines on my cheeks. They come off again and again, tried to heal, and because of the uneven surface I bite on it every day to get back to normal stage. So its devils circle! Your cheeks are trying to heal buliding new tissues, and you chew on it again. So annoying!
The Procedure
Take 2 days for you,
Day1. Start with corsodyl mouthwash, rinse your mouth, wait 30 minutes
Wipe off your mouth, specially the white spots and areas with dry tissues until they come off
It might take a while, don't worry, sometimes their just there for to long times
For the rest of the day rinse your mouth with warm (not hot!) herbal camomile tea so every hour or two. You can keep the tea in your mouth every time for few minutes as well.
It gives your cheeks a relief, evens out the rough surface, and heals inflamed gums and mouth tissue
You can drink a nice cup of herbal camomile tea or two for your nerves, it has a good calming effect
Day2. If you still have white areas in your mouth and/or rough surface, repeat the procedure again
The good thing is in that procedure, you are concentrating on the healing of your cheeks, so you have more chance not to chew on it.
It takes 2 or 3 days to have the final result. Nice smooth "new" cheeks!
Continue the herbal camomile tea rinse for another few days until the inflammation is gone. You can combine with morning-evening corsodyl or listerine mouthwash.
I was so happy after two days, that I have nice cheeks, I couldn't stop looking at, and I really take care of it for the future!
You sould really avoid during procedure:
Chewing your cheeks
Smoking
Hot, spicy food
Wine or alcoholic drink
Please note! If you have serious white marks or spots, that won't come off in few days or any other mutation you should consult your oral surgeon.
Hope that helps, fingers crossed for you guys! :-D