stop chewing the inside of my mouth

I think I may have actually hurt my tmj and upper back by constantly doing this over the past few weeks. The only thing I can think to do now is wear a night guard during the daytime. Even though it’ll make me sound like I have a lisp, I think a physical deterrant is the only thing that’s going to keep me from hurting myself and looking like an ass in public.

i do feel this is an anxiety issue (i started doing it many years ago, unthinkingly) light chewing only. no blood. i rotate around my mouth when it hurts. i actually see people on television do it, too. it looks horrible.
if you aren’t the type to get your teeth properly checked out, i’d recommend doing so. i told my dentist that i felt like i chewed because my gums felt ‘itchy’ and it turns out i had early stages of peridontal disease (bacteria below the gumline). when i got my teeth cleaned, i noticed i chewed less(which might make sense to the person who noticed it started in afternoon and progressed throughout the day) (maybe that’s why they recommend brushing after every meal). so it feels like our body wants to fix itself (eat the bad) but the chewing is ineffective as a method. just my opinion obviously. i smoke, and have always tended to chew on straws, pens, assorted objects, which makes me think its an oral fixation. i’m ging to keep looking, lol. good luck to all of us.

I’ve been doing this for decades. I call it Restless Tongue Syndrome (RTS). One son does it and one grandaughter does. Is it hereditary? I have, on a couple of ocassions, been able to stop, but later have started it again. Most of the time I start doing it late in the afternoon and it continues until bedtime. I have resorted to putting a sports mouthpiece in my mouth, which works. I only use the upper or bottom of the piece and trim it make it much smaller, just enough to keep my bottom and top teeth seperated. This does hinder talking clearly. I also use thread to tie my upper and lower teeth together. This works also, but takes more effort. This doesn’t hinder talking. Either solution is only appropiate for using when I’m home or alone. It is hard to believe that no one has a good solution to this.

when i found this on 43 things, i was actually sitting here chewing the inside of my cheek. this has to stop. haha

Okay I am SO HAPPY that I am not alone in this odd habit. I say habit, but really it is not that, it is an addiction in a way. I do not even realize that I am chewing most of the time. I did stop for about 6 months once, and I have no idea what triggered it to start up again. I have tried so hard to not chew/bite my cheeks, but like I mentioned before, I often have no idea that I am even doing it.
My mother has done it all my life, but hers seems much tamer. My sister did a little, and now to my dismay, my own daughter does it. I am 34 and been doing this since I was around 10. My dentist told me that he is concerned that I could cause cancer cells from the trauma that I am doing, AND that I have now got my jaw so out of line that my teeth are grinding away. You would THINK that this would be motivation enough, but sadly I still find myself doing it. Especially while I am driving is when I really notice it. I get SO stressed out when commuting to/from work in Houston traffic.
I have been on Aleve for days now because I have flared it up so badly my jaw aches when I talk, eat, & lord help me if I yawn. My ENT has taught me how to ‘pop’ my jaw back in because he said it is so bad. Aaaahhh. What do I do? Wear a rubber band and pop myself when I catch myself doing it?
I do agree that this is a form of OCD. I do have that regardless, to the point that it is ridiculous. I have managed to not allow it to go out of control, but it is work.
I have seen what my face looks like when I am chewing and it looks absolutley crazy. People must be looking at me in their rear-view mirrors and cracking up at what a hideous looking face I am making. It is an addiction! I have people that hit me & tell me ‘Stop’ and I will actually move away after a few minutes so I can “finish” what I was in the middle of, or I will go insane feeling the un-even cheek.
So are we crazy? Anyone know of any Dr.’s that are doing clinical trials? ha ha Has anyone else been told that they can cause cancer cells? I am worried about that one.

How funny-I just popped in here and said that I overcame this habit. Underneath my name it says “Worth doing!” Guess what-I’m chewing right now and have been for about a week and a half. What happened was I accidentally bit the inside of my mouth really hard and that left a sort of (sorry, TMI) flap of skin just hanging there. That’s like offering a drink to a former alcoholic. I started chewing it just to smooth it out, but I found that every day I was doing it more. Right now I’m at a point where I’m chewing just as much as I used to expect, for now, it’s only on one side. I don’t know what to do-I just can’t stop. I keep waking up and saying, “Okay, no chewing today,” but then I go right back to it. This doesn’t mean anyone should give up-it can be done and I was doing very well for a long while, but bad habits come back fast. Be careful and good luck.

I always knew I was not the only person who had the habit of biting his cheek. My mom has a milder version of habit, but she bites her cheeks as well. I read somewhere that its an “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”.. and lots of people here seem to thinks so too. Also it it might be, to a certain extent, genetic.

I’ve tried to leave the habit, but its never left me. I am 21.. and I’ve had this habit for at least 10 years now. In addition to biting cheeks, I also pull out beard-hair.. from my chin, ever since I’ve grown old enough to have a beard. There is a word of that, “trichotillomania”. I have no self-esteem issues – some information on the net seems to suggest that cheek biting and hair-pulling have to do with a poor self image. I am a happy, optimistic and (if I may add) lucky individual.

I bite my cheek and pull my hair most when I am worried or anxious, or bored.

And yes, sometimes I nibble on my tongue too.

i just found out i have TMJ, so i really need to quit this habit. pushing your jaw out of alignment a lot affects your jaw and neck muscles.

keep trying

Sometimes I do this so much I can’t eat. Ouch!