How often does it happen? You’re chewing something, and you accidentally bite the inside of your cheek. Ouch! Everyone does this occasionally, but if you do this often, it could signal a problem with your teeth! 

A bad bite can lead to increased bites of the cheek and tongue. This can lead to a cheek-biting sore or tongue-biting sore, which can be painful and slow to heal. Repeated sores could lead to permanent damage or an infection. 

We can help reduce your cheek biting and tongue biting with orthodontic treatment. Braces or clear aligners can improve teeth alignment and reduce biting injuries while chewing.

Traditional metal braces are the most common type of braces and are more comfortable today than ever before. Made of high-grade stainless steel, metal braces straighten your teeth using metal brackets and archwires. With metal braces, you have the option of adding colored elastics (rubber bands) for a more unique and colorful smile.

Why Do I Keep Biting the Inside of My Cheek?

If you’re biting your cheek often, it may be because your teeth are misaligned. You may have a crossbite, where the molars sit inside the back teeth instead of just outside. You could have an overbite or underbite. 

Your jaw may have shifted. Does the middle line between your front two top teeth line up with the middle line of your bottom front teeth? If it doesn’t, your teeth are misaligned, which may be why you bite your cheek or tongue more often.

These are just a few indicators of a misaligned bite. The best way to check for sure is to visit an orthodontist. You can visit Hentscher-Johnson Orthodontics in Columbia, IL, or Waterloo, IL. Get a free consultation to determine if your bad bite is causing cheek biting. 

What Else Can a Bad Bite Do? 

A bad bite can do more than cause you to bite your teeth. It can also weaken your teeth, cause headaches, and even cause sleep issues. 

• A bad bite can lead to TMJ Disorder, which damages the joint connecting the lower jaw to the skull. You could end up with jaw popping, pain, and joint deterioration. 
• Pain and Fatigue — A misaligned bite can cause jaw fatigue and even jaw pain with excessive chewing. This can lead you to chew your food less and swallow larger bites. Eating large bites can cause digestive problems like gas and acid reflux due to slower digestion. The jaw pain can also lead to neck pain and headaches. 
• Speech Issues — Your tongue must fall in certain places in your mouth to form proper sounds. Misaligned teeth could cause you to have speech issues, such as a lisp or the inability to make certain sounds properly. 

How to Stop Cheek Biting 

Correcting your misaligned teeth is one of the best ways to stop biting your cheek. We can do that with braces treatment or treatment with Invisalign or 3M Clarity clear aligners. 

Hentscher-Johnson Orthodontics offers metal braces, clear braces, and lingual braces to straighten your teeth and fix your bad bite. We customize our self-ligating braces to your teeth to enhance their comfort and efficiency. We place our lingual braces behind your teeth, making them invisible. All three types of braces can correct your bad bite and help reduce your cheek biting. 

Need something even less visible? We also offer Invisalign, Invisalign Teen, and 3M Clarity clear aligners. These clear aligners are custom-molded to fit your teeth and gently pressure them into their proper places. Like braces, clear aligners can help reduce or eliminate cheek and tongue biting.

Why Get Braces to Stop Cheek Biting?

Is it really necessary to stop biting your cheek? You can get sores from cheek biting, and these lesions in your mouth that can be very painful. Continuous cheek biting can keep these sores in your mouth. Eventually, it could cause digestive problems because you don’t chew food properly due to painful mouth sores. 

Misaligned teeth can lead to various issues. When your teeth aren’t correctly aligned, they unevenly distribute pressure from adjacent teeth, potentially weakening the tooth. This can result in chips, cracks, or breaks in your teeth and may lead to cavities due to weakened enamel.

Braces to Stop Cheek Biting in Columbia, IL & Waterloo, IL

If you find yourself biting your cheek often, it may be time to correct that bad bite. Schedule an appointment with Hentscher-Johnson Orthodontics. We will examine you and determine which time of braces or clear aligners treatment is right for you. We’ll have you happily (and safely) chewing your food again!