# Why do people bite their cheeks/tongue/lip? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319 "2015-07-27T15:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/1 "2015-07-27T15:08:27Z")
I turn 62 later this year, so I’ve had teeth for about 60 years. Every once in a while I bite the inside of my cheek, often hard enough to draw blood. Since this is painful, I would think that classic operant conditioning would prevent this from happening. Why doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/2 "2015-07-27T15:47:44Z")
Perhaps your bite is skewed, and while you’ve pretty much adapted to that over your life, you still have the occasional painful reminder. I have the same issue. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/3 "2015-07-27T16:05:28Z")
I just got a bridge which replaced, among others, a wisdom tooth that was taken out years ago. I’ve gotten used to not having tooth there, and now that I do, I bite my cheek a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/4 "2015-07-27T22:11:30Z")
When I was a teen, I got hit in the mouth with a baseball and I got my two front teeth knocked out. I have since, worn a denture. It’s odd, but if for whatever reason, I take it out, I more often than not will bite my tongue or lip hard. And you’d think I’d be LESS able to bite it as the two main teeth are gone when I remove the denture. But I guess it’s just what you get used to. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/5 "2015-07-27T22:25:59Z")
Speaking as a physician, the most frequent reason for biting one’s tongue/cheek/lip is swelling of said bitten part, making its shape different from what you are used to. This often happens after thermal or physical injuries, transiently blocked saliva ducts, or cold/herpes sores, to name some common reasons. Change the normal anatomy and inadvertent biting goes up. Which further changes the anatomy and causes further biting, etc. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/6 "2015-07-27T22:35:28Z")
I don’t have any mouth diseases! I think I bite my cheek because my teeth are shifting. I’ve had a lot of dental work, extractions, many root canals, and my teeth are defintely turning inward. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/7 "2015-07-28T00:53:40Z")
Surely sometimes it’s just a question of “stuff happens”. Considering the number of times you chew over the course of your lifetime–teeth going _CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP!_ just millimeters away from where your lips and tongue are merrily flailing around–it’s a wonder we don’t all chew ourselves half to death on a daily basis. And then there’s this… > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Speaking as a physician, the most frequent reason for biting one’s tongue/cheek/lip is swelling of said bitten part, making its shape different from what you are used to. This often happens after thermal or physical injuries, transiently blocked saliva ducts, or cold/herpes sores, to name some common reasons. Change the normal anatomy and inadvertent biting goes up. Which further changes the anatomy and causes further biting, etc. Ooh, the repeat bite! Boy, I hate that! ---
**Author:** ![Zerc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/82dd89/32.png) [@Zerc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zerc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/8 "2015-07-28T16:46:33Z")
I had two adjacent molars removed over 20 years ago and about two months previously I finally got implants to replace them. The same afternoon I bit the inside of my cheek hard while eating a sandwich. That really hurt and to make it worse I probably did it another 5 times the same day even though I was trying to be careful. Dr. Google told me that this was common after implants and it would probably taper off after about two to three weeks. Fortunately it did and while I still bite my cheek occasionally it’s nowhere near as often or as hard. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/9 "2015-07-28T17:34:43Z")
All it takes is a little suction to pull your cheeks into your mouth where you can easily bite them. Since we’re taught to eat with our mouths closed, that potential exists with every bite. We have a lot of practice avoiding it, but still… it’s probably a little like choking. We do everything we can to avoid it, but it still happens now and then. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-bite-their-cheeks-tongue-lip/726319/10 "2015-07-28T22:01:22Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > … Since this is painful, I would think that classic operant conditioning would prevent this from happening. Why doesn’t it? Why do you stub your toe occasionally? It hurts too. Your unconscious control of all your moving parts is imperfect. Sometimes your unconscious goofs.