Health and Lifestyle
There are many reasons to stop biting your inner mouth, lips and tongue. Understand the ways biting impacts you and discover the benefits of quitting. Below are some reasons to consider:
Enjoy better health
- Fresher breath and no more tender sores in or around your mouth
- Overall mouth hygiene improves
- Significantly less chance of developing a mouth disease
- Stop touching your face and mouth and you’re less likely to spread harmful bacteria
- Biting grinds and potentially damages your teeth – no more expensive dental work and awkward chats with your dentist
- Reduced jaw and neck stiffness TMJ – when you push your cheek or lip it places pressure on neck and jaw muscles
Enjoy a better life
- Food will taste better
- Eating will become a pleasure again, no more discomfort from painful sores
- Your face will be more at ease and your body more relaxed
- Skin will look healthier and more youthful
- Cheek or lip ‘pushing’ lines and wrinkles will soften as your face returns to its normal shape
- Body posture will improve, you’ll look more in control and no longer show the signs of nervousness associated with biting
- Exam study will become more focussed and a bit more enjoyable
- You’ll no longer worry about people watching or judging you for biting
There are many other reasons you may have for quitting, so take a moment to ponder your own.
It's all about Your:
Face
As a biter you often touch your face and are more likely to loose skin elasticity around the mouth. Your skin tone may become dull and greyish and become stretched over time.
By your early 30s, wrinkles can begin to appear around your mouth, adding years to your face. The good news is, this damage can be slowed and possibly reversed if you quit now.
Mind
Mouth biting is thought to be hardwired in your brain and therefore difficult to stop. The brain also develops extra pain receptors to accommodate the constant harm to your mouth lining.
The mind is used to these episodes of painful hurt, so when they stop, the body starts to show withdrawal symptoms. In the first few days you may feel anxious or irritable and have cravings to bite again; this is the body’s normal reaction and will pass.
Mouth
Biting takes its toll on your mouth. Biters can suffer from more oral health problems than non-biters ie: mouth sores, lip splits, ulcers, canker sores and mucous membrane damage. Although there have been some reports of increased cancer of the mouth with cheek biters, this link isn’t medically proven.
You’re also more likely to wear out your teeth due to the constant grinding required to bite the mouth area.
it gets worse if I’m stressed. But honestly sometimes I’m perfectly happy ripping my mouth to bits. Like right now: lalala rip nibble rip. Yes, I should stop. BUT I WANNA CHEW!
