Help, I'm biting my tongue!!!

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I have to get something off my chest again today and I don't know how I can help myself:

My little problem: I bite my tongue until it's sore (from boredom or simply to relieve stress). Unfortunately, nothing has helped so far.

I've been to a jaw orthopaedist and also to the dentist (at least twice because of the problem), the dentist ground off some of the tooth, but the problem is still there. They said they can't grind off more, but I don't want to look for another dentist now to see if he can do something else... I've also had less good dentists.

A neurologist was also at a loss and couldn't do anything in this case.

You can't suck on sweets all day, it damages your teeth, and chewing gum isn't the solution either. I don't know if ice cube therapy is harmful for the teeth or not. It numbs the tongue, but I don't always have it.

Does anyone have any other ideas before I eat 10 ice cubes every day?

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Response 1:

What you wrote made me think of two different possible explanations:

1. sometimes something like this can have a tic-like character (in this case, a tic is a rather stupid word, as I see it, for involuntary movements or even more complex sequences of movements, the occurrence and absence one has no control over). This sometimes occurs as a side effect of medication, but one can also develop a tic independently of this (actually, the neurologist could have thought of this and clarified it).

Otherwise, the stress reduction thing is a possible explanation.

In both cases, you can try behavioural therapy. It might be worthwhile to do the so-called probationary sessions (these are five appointments in which the patient has the opportunity to describe the situation and get to know the therapist's way of working and the therapist develops an explanatory model and plans the further treatment). After that, both can usually decide whether treatment is useful or what to do instead.

Best wishes

Response 2:

Hello, a few good ideas have already come from the first reply (many thanks for that 😀).

I would spontaneously think of a bite splint, like the ones worn when you grind your teeth, to protect your tongue.

Alternatively, maybe bite something else? Vegetable slices/strips or something?