People bit their lips due to several reasons. While for some, it can happen accidentally while biting their food. For others, it may frequently happen when they are eating or talking. Some individuals do it while sleeping. Other reasons include stress or dry lips. The first step in the fight to stop lip biting is figuring out what’s causing the problem.
Accidental Lip Biting
If you accidentally bit your lips, but it happens most of the time of your day or night, you should immediately see your dentist. You may have a misaligned bite or require treatment for TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder). Your dentist will examine your condition and guide you on ways to help stop lip biting. Schedule an appointment with the experts at Pearl Shine Dental by calling 281-477-7200.
Habitually Biting Your Lip
Often you may bite your lips without even being aware of doing it. Most probably, it can happen due to nervousness. But you aren’t alone in this situation. There are many others like you. Anxiety often causes chronic lip biting or can be due to body-focused repetitive behavior.
If you successfully identify your biting due to nervousness, you can work on your behavior to minimize lip biting.
Why is lip biting bad?
Lip biting can not only cause pain, but it can also bring along other issues for your oral and overall health. Repetitive lip biting can cause sores, swelling, and tenderness. Chronically biting a particular area can even result in oral fibroma. Moreover, you may experience headaches and jaw pain.
Tricks to stop the lip biting habit
- Exfoliate dry lips
To prevent biting your dry lips, make sure to exfoliate them 2-3 times a week before sleeping and then applying rich moisturizer, so they remain hydrated overnight. - Moisturize over and over again
Apply nourishing balm to your lips to stop biting. A great trick is applying bad-tasting lip balm, so if you accidentally bite them, the taste refrains you from doing it again. - Practice mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness gives you more control of your body and allows you to live in the moment. Be aware of your feelings, your surrounding, and the smells around you. Breathe deeply and be mindful of things around you before hitting the resume button. This helps relieve the stress and stop lip biting. The more your become aware of yourself and your surrounding, the more easily you could stop lip biting. - Try progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
PMR is a stress-controlling technique. It works by tensing certain muscles at the same time and releasing them all together. This allows those muscles to go through deep relaxation. By focusing your mind on a particular group of muscles and changing your stressful state to a relaxation one, you can get rid of the anxiety symptoms like lip biting. - Explore behavioral therapy as an option
The best way to alter subconscious behaviors is to determine the main causes and learn to cope with them. You can consult a licensed therapist for this purpose.