Chronic tongue and lip biting while eating

Posted by chiefd67 @chiefd67, Aug 31, 2022

I have been biting my tongue, inside my upper and lower lips, and inside my cheeks for well over a year now. I went to the VA and they
assumed it was a dental issue and would not refer me to a specialist. I went to my dentist and she wanted to put crowns over perfectly good teeth to "see if that would work." I do have cervical degenerative disc disease and nerve issues for about 50 years now. I googled and found out that in the brain there is a section called "pons" that controls a few functions, chewing is one of them. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if so what was done to stop the biting and if it had anything to do with the brain (pons)? What specialist would I go to to get testing, and should I go to Mayo since not many doctors I have been to know anything about my problem? Thanks!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Brain & Nervous System Support Group.

I had a stroke on Christmas Eve, 2018. Immediately after, I had some problems with dysphagia, and as that resolved, I would occasionally bite my upper-right lip. The lip would swell, meaning I'd bite it more often. Vicious, painful cycle!
Over time the lip-biting has nearly disappeared, but every time I think I'm completely over it ... *chomp*.
Argh.

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I have started hitting my inside lower lip the past few days making a sore. I only do it when I eat. This has never happen before. I have a back top partial and bottom dentures which have not been a problem. This is my natural top teeth that are biting my inside lip. What causes this? How do I get it well?

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@ammaw52

I have started hitting my inside lower lip the past few days making a sore. I only do it when I eat. This has never happen before. I have a back top partial and bottom dentures which have not been a problem. This is my natural top teeth that are biting my inside lip. What causes this? How do I get it well?

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Sometimes when I'm stressed, my jaw muscles tighten, which rearranges my lower jaw. That changes the alignment of my teeth, of course, which can lead to lip-biting.

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I find myself being bitten (on the inside of the lip or jaw) more often when I am not paying attention to food being chewed -- which is actually a good practice (mindful eating) as after all food needs to be Fully tasted, smelled and felt-for-its chewiness -- isn't that one of the reason we like meet burgers! Besides my teeth are grounded bad -- my bad habit.

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I bite tthe inside of my cheek often. My jaw twitches amd I bite down, usually resulting on biting the inside of my cheek. I never thought about getting seen for it. I have Epilepsy myself.

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Some medications can cause unusual mouth/tongue movements. It is called tardivedyskinesia. Perhaps this is a possibility.

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Have you considered seeing a dentist? If you’ve got misaligned teeth or especially bite a dentist can help. They might also be able to make some additional recommendations for treatment

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@ammaw52

I have started hitting my inside lower lip the past few days making a sore. I only do it when I eat. This has never happen before. I have a back top partial and bottom dentures which have not been a problem. This is my natural top teeth that are biting my inside lip. What causes this? How do I get it well?

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I have done this numerous times and it seems that once you bite it, you continually do so. I have a small cyst that formed on the inside toward the side of my lower lip. Yesterday I was eating and bit down on this lip so hard that I took the top of it off! It is sooo sore! I've tried ambesol and it helps temporarily for the pain but I need to know how to heal it.

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@hopeful33250

Hello @chiefd67 and welcome to Mayo Connect. I can understand your wanting to find answers to this problem. I'm wondering if sores form in your mouth as a result of the inadvertent biting.

You shared that this has been going on for a year now. Did any illness or accident happen prior to this symptom? Is it always when you eat or does it also happen when you are talking?

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Yes, there are sores from biting the inside of my lower lip. No, I have had no recent injuries. The circumstances are just as I stated them in my initial post.

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@jenatsky

Have you considered seeing a dentist? If you’ve got misaligned teeth or especially bite a dentist can help. They might also be able to make some additional recommendations for treatment

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My initial statement stated I had seen a dentist and what they said.

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