Cheek Biting- What You Need To Know?

There is a general belief that cheek biting is harmless and simply a bad habit like nail biting. We’ve all at some point in time experienced the sudden biting down of our cheek while eating our food, causing immediate pain. 

However Persistent biting of the tissues in the mouth can interfere with the person’s comfort, routines, and ability to eat. 

Scientifically known as morsicatio buccarum, Chronic cheek biting is considered to be a body-focused repetitive behaviour (BFRB) similar to hair pulling (trichotillomania) and skin picking (excoriation).

Categorized under obsessive-compulsive disorder, this kind of repeated behaviour can be an indication of a mental health condition driven by stress and anxiety.

A consultation with the dentist can help to establish if cheek biting is being caused due to misaligned teeth or implants. People who suffer from temporomandibular disorders may also often bite their cheeks. 

However, a more severe condition, Chronic cheek biting requires appropriate medical attention. 

What is Chronic Cheek Biting?

Behaviours that are repeated despite continuing attempts to stop them BFRBs become disorders when they start to interfere with a person’s quality of life and cause pain or injury.

Beginning in late childhood, these disorders can continue into adulthood and can be directly influenced by the stress level.

What are Different Types of Cheek Biting

The five primary types of cheek biting are:

1. Periodic Accidental Cheek Biting

A rare occurrence, every person may once in a while bite their cheek which may result in a canker sore. However, this is not generally a cause for worry.

2. Regular Accidental Cheek Biting

Sometimes a person can accidentally bite down on the cheeks more frequently because of the teeth not being in alignment or there may be something wrong with the jaw. 

A dentist must be consulted if the cheek biting reaches this point. An expert and experienced dentist like Dr Sheena Gaur at Kirkland Premier Dentistry can guide suitably on the problem. 

3. Cheek Biting While Asleep

For the people who wake up with a sore in the mouth or a tender spot, it might be because of biting in sleep.

This is an unintentional behaviour that can be dealt with with a soft guard provided by the dentist, to prevent direct contact of the teeth with the cheek.

4. Habitual Cheek Biting

When the biting happens frequently enough to be apparent and also starts interfering with the regular routine, it might be psychologically related.

5. BFRD

A completely obsessive cheek biting BFRD is a condition where one may not even realize that they’re biting their cheek or it continues despite the attempts to stop, it is known as chronic cheek biting or chronic cheek bite keratosis.

Why Does Cheek Biting Happen?

There can be many reasons to make a person bite the inside of their teeth. These can range from an accident to the structure of the teeth and jaw. 

Some of the most common reasons for cheek biting include: 

Lack of Attention: One may sometimes during meals, be distracted from the act of proper chewing because of multitasking activities like scrolling through social media, reading a book, or watching TV and may not even realize about having bitten their cheek because of being so immersed in the other activity.

Accidental Biting: Caused due to lack of attention, Accidental biting can happen when one eats too fast or talks while eating.

Injury Biting: One may bite the cheek while fighting, playing sports, or meeting an accident.

Depression or Anxiety-Related Biting: As a reaction to stress, boredom or depression, a person can sometimes automatically bite their inner cheeks. It can be a semiconscious coping method for emotional overload.

Tooth Deflection in the Dental Arch: Usually common with wisdom teeth, deviated molars, premolars, or poorly designed or badly- constructed crowns, where the teeth can deflect towards the other teeth and cause lesions.  

Psychological-Related Biting: A chronic cheek biting, where one compulsively bites the inside of the cheek. One may not even be aware of this biting.

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