Metal Mouth Message Board

One of the don't do list I was given is nail biting. I am over a week now with braces. For a week I could not bite my teeth and suddenly the habit is kicking in just when my nails were starting to grow. What is the effect of nail biting on my braces. Will the brackets break? I was hoping the braces will help me to get rid of the habit for good but now I found the way to bite my nails.

Yes, you can break brackets if you slip.

I don't see how it would damage your brackets or effect your treatment; you only have so much nail to chew on, so it's not like thumb-sucking where the pressure is frequent and constant.

That said, now is as good a time as any to kick the habit; my wife couldn't kick it until she had warts that started to grow under her fingernails... took 1 1/2 years and three different treatment methods to get those cured.

Here's the way I stopped biting my nails. I read that if you wear lots of rings it draws attention to your fingers so people will look. This forces you to take better care of your nails and soon you'll be filing instead of biting. I know this sounds crazy but it worked for me, not to say my fingers don't find their way to my mouth now and then.

sirwired wrote:I don't see how it would damage your brackets or effect your treatment; you only have so much nail to chew on, so it's not like thumb-sucking where the pressure is frequent and constant.

That said, now is as good a time as any to kick the habit; my wife couldn't kick it until she had warts that started to grow under her fingernails... took 1 1/2 years and three different treatment methods to get those cured.

That's quite scary. It's difficult to eat them now but somehow I found the way to continue biting them

Ziggy wrote:Here's the way I stopped biting my nails. I read that if you wear lots of rings it draws attention to your fingers so people will look. This forces you to take better care of your nails and soon you'll be filing instead of biting. I know this sounds crazy but it worked for me, not to say my fingers don't find their way to my mouth now and then.

When I am stressed at work....
I almost don't even realise I am biting my nail

Thats one of the things I am looking forward to! Hoping it stops me nail biting!! My husbands despairs at me, I think he would cough up all this just to stop me biting my nails!!

MummaFish48 wrote:Thats one of the things I am looking forward to! Hoping it stops me nail biting!! My husbands despairs at me, I think he would cough up all this just to stop me biting my nails!!

It's really difficult to bite nails with braces but hey this habit is so strong I keep trying to bite them when stress and I get frustrated. All the best.....I hope you will finally beat the habit.

I've tried to bite them with my braces and it is a no-go for me. I'm actually quite happy about that since it is such a disgusting habit anyway, so it really is for the best.

Have you tried sugar free chewing gum? Chewing gum can alleviate the same stress as nail biting (without the risk of warts!).

A soft gum like Trident works for me.
Hope this helps.

MetalMouth77 wrote:Have you tried sugar free chewing gum? Chewing gum can alleviate the same stress as nail biting (without the risk of warts!).

A soft gum like Trident works for me.
Hope this helps.

I will give that a try as well. I do chew sugar free gum but not when stressing

Ooo I was a nail biter!! Can't do it now, it just hurts my teeth and where the teeth move I can't find a "comfortable spot". I think after a year the habit is broken! I have Easter bunnies painted on my nails ATM having pretty fingers is way more rewarding than munching on them xxx

I cannot bite my nails any more, no matter how hard I try. I am 30 and have been a nail biter since about 5. My braces have been on for a month and I think going cold Turkey where nail biting is concerned has been the hardest part of the process. I am super happy to be rid of the habit though.