Everyone bites his cheeks or tongue occasionally. These two parts of your mouth guide and hold the food between the teeth to effect its mastication. When you think of the thousands of times the cheeks and tongue guide and hold the food, it is a wonder we don't have this trouble more often. Once these tissues are bitten some swelling occurs. It then becomes quite easy to rebite the swollen area.



If you frequently bite the same place, you should see your dentist. This is often due to the way the upper and lower teeth come together. If tooth positions are abnormal your dentist can adjust the bite by slightly reshaping the teeth in question. Abnormal wear which allows the tooth to become sharp and jagged can also cause one to bite the inside of the mouth.

This is a common problem in horses. Most people, at least most horse lovers, know that when it occurs, the horses teeth must be filed to stop the cutting of their checks and lips. People,however, seem to be abnormally fearful of this simple procedure, feeling the dentist somehow is going to ruin their tooth enamel in the process. I have never seen harm ion such minor adjustment procedures in thousands of instances but have witnessed much tooth destruction,because neglect permitted the abraded or chipped teeth to more easily fracture.

If lips,tongue or cheeks are continually traumatized by jagged teeth or ill fitting dentures they at times develop tumorous growths from the continual irritation. Even some oral malignancies have such simple causes. Canker sores in the mouth are usually not due to vitamin or mineral deficiencies but for the most part are caused by the organic acid found in fruit and fruit juices, from nuts, and from chocolate.

Calcium vital to Denture Wearers. I have been wearing false teeth for sixteen years now. They aren't as good as my own, but they have worked pretty good until lately. My mouth seems to be sore a lot and the teeth don't stay down like they used to. My husband doesn't say anything but my face looks sunken and thin. Would vitamins take away the sores and help my face look better?

What has happened? Your gums have continued to shrink since you lost your teeth. This causes the face to collapse, cheeks and lips to fall in,chin protrude, and the disappearance of the normal cupid bow appearance of the lips. It's an all too frequent occurrence making the person look older than his years, no matter what his age.

There is now good news for denture wearers. A recent study by Dr. Kenneth Wical, formerly of the School of Dentistry at the University of Washington and of Loma Linda, shows a direct relationship between the calcium levels in those who have excessive gum shrinkage and those who do not.

Dietary studies of people who have lost their teeth proved that individuals having the most shrinkage of alveolar ridges (gum and bone that formerly held the normal teeth) showed that they had much lower calcium intakes than those having little or no bone loss. This fact shouldn't be to surprising because one of the reasons people lose their teeth is low calcium intake.

The recommended minimum daily requirement for calcium set up by government sources is 800 to 1,000 mg. (12 to 17 grains). Although dentists make pretty good guesses as to the amount of bone loss under artificial teeth, Dr. Wical has devised a method of measuring that loss. Once reasonable accuracy in determining the actual amount of bone loss was established, comparisons to dietary intakes of calcium became possible.

Dr. Wical found those having minimal loss had intakes of calcium averaging 933 mg. While those with severe resorption ingested only 533 mg. The individuals with low consumption all reported they were on good diets to the same degree as those on normal level. This is an old story to nutritionists. Almost everyone reports they eat a good diet. Hardly anyone thinks his food intake is insufficient in any way.

Copyright (c) 2007 Sung Lee, and George Meinig D.D.S