Post by coolhandluke on May 18, 2004 22:49:34 GMT -5
Hey, guys! I don't chew my cheeks (it sounds sooooooo painful!), but I do grind my teeth A LOT. I think I learned it from watching my dad grind his teeth when I was a kid; he'd do it whenever he was driving, thinking hard, while listening to the other person in a conversation...basically whenever he needs to concentrate he does it. And he's always snipping or chewing hangnails around his cuticles, which causes more hangnails; the skin around his fingernails is always bright pink, tender-looking, and raw. And my mom is always buffing and snipping and pushing down her cuticles on her feet; she has gorgeous feet and takes excellent care of them, but it's a compulsion just the same, as she does it while watching TV and reading and stuff.
I grind my teeth really bad, but aside from 21 years of seeing my dad do it, I think the other part of it is that my teeth don't lock perfectly when I close my mouth. I have to clench my teeth in order for them to fit just right, like they're supposed to. If I got braces, the dentist says it would just be cosmetic, as my teeth are functionally straight enough. Except that my jaws are often stiff and achy when I wake up in the morning, after having my jaw clenched for 8 hours. I do it a lot during the day, too, some days more than others. Some mornings I will pull my lower jaw down with one hand while pulling the upper jaw up with the other hand, just to stretch the tight muscles! But it does feel good; kind of like popping your joints.
I used to be able to pop my right ankle, but now I can only do it when I'm driving. The past few days, it's been really tight and in need of popping, but I can't do it...grrrr!!! It feels so weird.
Later...
CHL
I grind my teeth really bad, but aside from 21 years of seeing my dad do it, I think the other part of it is that my teeth don't lock perfectly when I close my mouth. I have to clench my teeth in order for them to fit just right, like they're supposed to. If I got braces, the dentist says it would just be cosmetic, as my teeth are functionally straight enough. Except that my jaws are often stiff and achy when I wake up in the morning, after having my jaw clenched for 8 hours. I do it a lot during the day, too, some days more than others. Some mornings I will pull my lower jaw down with one hand while pulling the upper jaw up with the other hand, just to stretch the tight muscles! But it does feel good; kind of like popping your joints.
I used to be able to pop my right ankle, but now I can only do it when I'm driving. The past few days, it's been really tight and in need of popping, but I can't do it...grrrr!!! It feels so weird.
Later...
CHL