Biting of inner side of mouth

Teryn

My daughter with cp does this as well and I've worried that maybe it's a sign for stress. The habit seems to come and go.

yankeegirl

I was just doing this when I saw this topic! I think I do it every day but don't think about it much. I have no idea if it has something to do with having braces a long time ago. Sometimes when I eat I accidentally bite the side of my mouth, which might be because my jaw's out of alignment from the braces maybe not being done quite right? Then once I've bitten the inside of my mouth I keep chewing on it because it's not quite smooth. Even on an everyday basis I bite at it because there are parts of it that are uneven and I try to "fix" them. It probably is a nervous habit/stress thing.

I'm not sure why this would be connected with CP but I think anything's possible! Let me know if you find out anything definitive.

CandP

I never considered this as a possibilty, but just recently I was chewing and I bit the inside of my bottom lip!! I've never done that before, and how was that possible anyway??!!

But I know that my bottom lip wrinkles/moves a bit more than the norm...actually more than the norm. I never noticed this but, when everyone speaks, did you notice that the bottom lip NEVER moves or wrinkles? Well, mine does, and it has caused me to be self-conscious about it. Along with my slow-mo sounding voice....oh well.

Now that you mentioned it, it might be due to my jaw being out of alingment? I think I need to seek another SLP's help again....it's so hard to stay with one for more than a two months or so, I just feel they end up running out of things to do with me. Maybe stay with one for two months, take a break for two months, then go back?

yankeegirl

I doubt your jaw is out of alignment, but did you have braces on your teeth? If so and they didn't correct it the best way or you didn't respond well to what they were trying to do, it's possible. You might be eating too quickly and biting incorrectly. If you never had braces and you have a crossbite or overbite or underbite you can bite yourself while you're eating too. You bet you can eat too quickly when you're stressed out as well (or just in a hurry).

An easy idea would be to ask your dentist if your teeth/jaw have anything to do with this. If not I would chalk it up to stress. I have never heard of CP causing this but I am not an expert. If you hear an answer from a doctor let me know!

CandP

I know, I'm trying to be my own doctor here
Actually, no braces. I have somewhat of " perfect" teeth, as my dentist told me. Nothing crooked or chipped, or anything.

However, I get a couple of clicking sounds from my jaw every now and then, primarily when I'm chewing gum I guess or when i open/close my jaw/mouth. Or when I try to push food from one side to the other...do you hear those sounds too?

yankeegirl

Every once in a while I hear a pop. Less often than that it feels like it's off line a little bit and it hurts. It doesn't last long. I know I grind my teeth in my sleep and that probably messes it up, too. (That's a stress thing for sure.) Do your teeth look worn at all on the surfaces where you chew? Doesn't sound like it from what you said, but you can look. They have mouth guards for that at pharmacies.

The more I think about it the more I think it's nerves, or a habit we do when we are thinking about other things. It's like biting your nails or tapping your pen when you're in between things you're writing.

CandP

I guess you may be right about it being a nerve thing or tick of some sort. I guess my cp has a bit to do with a minor loss in control of my tongue muscles that may be result of biting my cheeck and things like this. But stress/nerves, they go hand and hand, and may make things more exacerbated at times. I dont believe I grind my teeth at all. At least my dentist nerver mentioned anything.