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Chronic tongue and lip biting while eating
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!
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Forgot to say, "When you inhale through your nose inflate your stomach, NOT chest."
I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy and GERD with IBS. Unfortunately I am inadvertently by biting my tongue and lip as I sit or eat. I never really thought that it was a result of either of those two. Thank you for bringing it up.
You're most welcome. Yes, my neuropathy (as well as, autoimmune problems), exacerbate my anxiety... which, of course, will cause other issues. Wishing you strength & peace on your journey.
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Hi
I too am experiencing the same thing. The only difference is I don’t bite my lips at all. I bite the right side of my cheek and under my tongue, which I try to pay attention when I bite under my tongue to see how that is even possible. I’m baffled. It’s gotten so bad in the last 6 months. I was rear ended in 2016 and ended up with disc problems in my neck and lower back. Then in 2018 I had a major heart attack in which they performed CPR for an hour and I got zapped 8 times to bring me back. After that my jaw would click when I ate. It was sooooo annoying. My husband heard it. Now it 2025 and the clicking is just about gone but now I’m biting the inside of my cheek and under my tongue only on the right side. It’s when I eat and chew gum. I sometimes cause bleeding because I bite so hard. Oh and I bite the right side of my tongue too. It hurts so bad.
When I was 48 I had a hip replacement and the pain I had before surgery went away but I have a new pain since that surgery. I’ve had 2 more hip replacements within two years. All three surgeries did nothing for the pain. I’ve been here there and everywhere to find out what happened. Nothing, nobody can figure out what’s causing the pain. Because of the way I walked due to the pain I needed a right hip replacement. I have no problem with that hip at all. My thought is something was cut in my first surgery and no one is saying anything. It’s feels like a muscle pain. So there I was about 50 yrs old with a bad hip and no longer active. Everyone was saying I was too young for a hip replacement. They did try everything before having the surgery. Dentist doesn’t know why the clicking and said it wasn’t caused by the accident. The many orthopedics have no clue as to why I can barely walk. I’m 59 now and barely walking. My mom is 79 now and still very active. I’m so happy for her but I’m so depressed now that I can’t get better. Sorry this is so long but maybe someday someone will figure the mouth and tongue biting for me. Who knows if it was the car accident that ruined my neck or the heart attack that left me with slight numbness in my face and brain fog.
Wow dinamarie, I didn't recall this but I've got a weird update. First you've been through so much. In mid September I began rectal bleeding. Never had this before. I spent four days in the hospital getting all the gastric tests and there was no active bleeding. Here's the wow thing. After the endoscopy, CT scan, and colonoscopy, something changed from what I believe was caused by the anesthesia. I haven't bit anything since I was in the hospital. While I was there I didn't eat anything and was completely drained empty. After a week or so I realized I hadn't bit my mouth, tongue etc. I'm still bite free. My appetite is a bit lite and my hemoglobin is working its way back up. Blood work last week was over 10 after dropping to 8.3 after the bleeding. I'm 73 and I had double bypass in 2008 and was very successful. I have numbness in my leg and back since spine surgery in 2019. As far as clicking jaw, it happens when it wants. I also have that clicking in other joints. It comes before it needs to be replaced. One other sign is when the cortisone shots no longer help the pain. My PCP told me last week my calcification around my worn shoulder was pretty bad and if it gets much worse I may not be a candidate for a replacement. Hmmm. One last thought on jaw clicking. In the last several years I've taken my 96 yo mother to the dentist many times. She got several raw deals before I started going with her. Too much to explain but what I have learned about getting old and our mouths is scary. She's spent a fortune and should have gotten false teeth at least ten years ago. I have been flossing and brushing like never in my life.
I started biting my lip after two bouts of Bells palsy. I don't know what to do. It happens on and off. I also have TMJ. What can we do?