stop chewing the inside of my mouth

I’ve deposited boxes with chewing gum in the kitchen (where I read the newspaper, so exciting, need to chew, aargh!) and on my desk at home as well as in the office. Whenever I catch myself biting my cheeks, I’ll grab some gum. Or, to be honest, a candy bar/walnut/raisin/chocolate bar… – I’ve become a a squirrel… but I think that’s better than chewing!

Alas, I’ve not been able to REALLY quit. And my weird wrinkles won’t miraculously disappear, which is a real drag.. But I’m not so ashamed anymore of seeing my dentist.. yes, there might be hope yet.

I can’t even remember a time after “starting” puberty when I didn’t engage in biting my nails, biting my knuckles (uuugh) or in recent years chewing the inside of my mouth . It has come to the point where there are lines (or wrinkles) above my upper lip that a person of my age wouldn’t usually have, and they make me incredible self-conscious. And my front teeth have also suffered. Repulsive, yes.

This behavior might stop eventually when my life changes and I don’t feel all this anxiety anymore, but until then, there’s got to be a way to stop. My dentist (who thinks that I grind my teeth at night) gave me some form of brace, but I don’t think I can wear it in the daytime. Unless I never speak!

For now I’m trying gum. If anyone knows of anything one can wear, like another kind of brace that allowes intelligible speech, do let me know!