R565:

hi. I'm afraid I don't have an answer to your specific question, but I have a lip biting problem myself that I thought you might be able to help me with.

I bit my lip while eating a sandwich a week ago. Since then, i've been biting it, accidently, almost always while chewing, almost everyday, if not every day. I've had successive involuntary lip biting episodes in the past, but none that seemed to last quite this long.

I've been trying to chew much more slowly and carefully, but I can almost never manage to go without chomping down on it during a meal once or twice. It's usually sort of a sudden, spasmodic bite, while i'm trying to move food around in my mouth, usually after taking too big a bite, which I have a habit of doing. This worries me. I've heard cheek biting might cause cancer. Can lip biting too?

I have moderate to advanced periodontitis, and I suspect a bite problem (malocclusion?) so I fear this may be the cause. I've been slightly, now and then, snagging the inside lip with my front teeth, but could this be due to swelling from the intermittent biting?

Well, sorry I couldn't help you, but I was wondering if you had a similar problem, and how you dealt with it.

Thanks.

James n. Dawson/idiopathic12

Hi there

I found this site whilst doing a search for any information on lip biting as I have been experiencing this problem whilst eating and it's worrying me. I was relieved to find that someone else had had exactly the same problem. I was wondering if idiopathic12 was still having this problem or has it gone away?

It isn't the first time this has happened. I've had it a few times and it's stopped then come back out of the blue. It's completely involuntary and spasmodic and very painful. You described it perfectly.

If it keeps happening I will have to consult my GP.

Can anyone tell me why this happens please.

lunarjoycie,

Yes, my lip biting resolved itself probably more than a year ago. I've bity lip while eating recently, but not hard and it hasn't recurred or started a pattern. I think I've sort of become more aware when I'm getting to hurried in my chewing and taking bites that are too big.

My dentist said my bite is off, and it probably has been for years. I wasn't aware of this. According to him you can grind your teeth, your teeth can be lose and your bite can be off even when you don't know it. I suppose this may contribute to the tendency to bite your lip, besides wolfing your food, as I have a habit of doing.

Hope your own lip biting's resolved itself since your last post. I think you just have to be careful, and it'll stop eventually.

Good luck.

idiopathic12/James

Hi idiopathic12/James

Thanks for your reply. I'm happy to say my lip biting problem has resolved itself although realistically I know it may happen again as it's happened a few times.

However, I am more aware of it now and, like yourself, am consciously slowing down my eating and taking smaller bites of food. I have nipped my lip a couple of times but not taken a huge chunk out of it as I almost did before!!

It seems to me that there's always something to worry about but c'est la vie as they say.

Nice to know other people suffer too (that sounds awful but you know what I mean).

Thanks again

Kind regards

lunarjoycie

Dear r565 and Idiopathic, I sympathize with you to no end! I googled "lip biting while eating" and found your posts. I also have a terrible time lip biting DURING EATING and now my mouth has several sores and I keep biting them. This has worsened over the last year or so and is getting quite intolerable. Please Note readers that I do NOT have a lip biting issue that may be psychological but this issue is a physical anomaly that only happens while I eat. Yes I eat quickly and full mouth, but I do try NOT to bite. Yiikees, any suggestions?

bestartifacts,

I'm afraid I can't offer any advice, except being VERY conscious of eating smaller bites and chewing more slowly and carefully. (I wolf my food too, but not as much now, due to this lipe-bit tendency). Maybe you ought to try soups, stews and smoothies awhile, and your "neuromuscular" response will go back to normal.

I did have a dental exam about a month ago, and my dentist did confirm my bite was off. Maybe you should see your dentist to have that looked at. (What to do about it and how much it'll cost, I have no idea. Mine hasn't been worked on yet, and I have no idea how much it would or will cost, or what it involves.)

Again, SLOW and CAREFUL is the only possible cure I'm aware of. Or get yourself a blender. Good luck!

idiopathic12/James