A lot of people bite their lips, and oftentimes they are not aware of this habit. A few people may consider lip-biting attractive but the truth is, long-term lip-biting is something you may need to worry about. As any knowledgeable cosmetic dentist in Santa Rosa, CA will tell you, lip-biting can point towards a significant underlying problem.
Lip-biting is a common occurrence when people are under a lot of stress. It’s relatively harmless if you only bite your lips occasionally. However, once it becomes a habitual outlet for stress or anxiety, and your lip begins to show signs of damage, you may need to see a cosmetic dentist or a doctor to find the root cause. An article from habitkickers.com presents some solutions.
One technique is to train yourself to stop—but that won’t be easy. If you’ve been biting your lip habitually for years, the urge is not going to disappear overnight. The important thing is to be vigilant in stopping the behavior as soon as you catch yourself doing it. You can try applying bad-tasting lip balm every time you feel like biting your lip—this may stop you from feeling compelled to bite.
If your lip-biting is caused by anxiety, talk to a therapist. He may help you address the stressful situations in your life that are causing your bad habit. Along with therapy, find ways to relax and unwind. Plenty of relaxation techniques, including yoga, breathing exercises, and hiking, among other things, can truly help relieve stress and anxieties.
An often overlooked consequence of lip-biting is the way the habit appears to other people. The next time you bite your lip, look in the mirror and observe the faces, gestures, and noises you make. How would your behavior come across to other people? Lip-biting often connotes a lack of confidence in oneself; lip-biters could, in fact, be losing out on making friends or, worse, on being given more responsibility and promotions at work.
When your habit starts causing various irritations and infections, you may need to consult with a qualified and experienced doctor or a cosmetic dentist in Santa Rosa like Josh Hammer, DMD or Scott Bonin, DDS. They can assess your lip’s condition and advise you on how to take better care of your lips.
Josh Hammer, DMD and Scott Bonin, DDS 