Why is the skin on the inside of my cheek peeling?
I’ve noticed this happening every so often since late August/early September. Every so often, I’ll run my tongue along the inside of my right cheek and feel patches of loose, dead skin. Every so often it comes off in my mouth… which is pretty gross.
But I’m confused: this has never happened to me before, even when I had braces which cut up the inside of my mouth. I don’t chew on the inside of my cheeks (at least consciously) or anything and I have pretty decent oral hygiene.
Has this happened to anyone else? Is it something I should be concerned about?
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9 Answers
Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.
“It sounds like the mucosa is sloughing for some reason. This can happen when the tissue becomes excessively dry or something is irritating the tissue. It doesn’t sound serious but a consult with an oral surgeon
would be a good idea.”
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Thanks, @marinelife! I need to see my dentist soon anyway, I’ll ask him about it next time I’m there.
Do you bite your cheeks? My dentist told me that can lead to tissue toughness later in life. Unfortunately, my mom and I both do it out of habit – I agree, it is kinda gross!
Are you using a whitening product of some kind; a toothpaste or rinse, etc? Some of the whitening products I’ve used in the past have caused the skin on the inside of my mouth to slough off. It is pretty gross.
@camertron No, I don’t chew my gums, and I’m pretty sure I don’t do it in my sleep either.
@lillycoyote Nope! I don’t use whitening products and very rarely use mouthwash. It’s so weird, I don’t know what’s causing it!
Sometimes people can be allergic to ingredients in toothpaste. I would check with the dentist, and try using a different one that you are using now.
@skfinkel Ah, good point! I did start using a different kind of toothpaste around the time this started happening… It’s Crest, which I’ve always used, but maybe this particular toothpaste has some ingredients my mouth doesn’t like. Thanks for the suggestion.
@ParaParaYukiko chewing your cheeks is different than chewing your gums. I’m actually not sure how you’d chew your gums… maybe we’re talking about the same thing?
@camertron Haha, oops, I meant cheeks. I did mention I don’t chew on them in my original post, but for some reason I said gums in my response to you.
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