Remedy for 3 years of unilateral chewing

Most of us use both sides of the teeth alternately or simultaneously when chewing food. However, some people, for some reasons, such as pain when eating on one side of the teeth, are accustomed to using only the other side of the teeth. Doctors call this "unilateral chewing". Over time, the harm of this practice becomes apparent. For example, some people have been chewing on one side for three years and found that their left and right faces are not symmetrical. In such a situation, is there any remedy?

1. The cause of unilateral chewing

1. Tooth decay: Many people have tooth decay on one side and have not received timely treatment. In order to avoid the pain of tooth decay or food getting stuck in the cavity, they chew with one side of their teeth when eating. Over time, they develop the habit of chewing on one side.

2. Missing teeth: As we all know, permanent molars (large teeth) grow relatively slowly. After the deciduous teeth fall out, one side is missing and the other side is used to chew food. When the permanent molars grow out completely, this unilateral chewing situation is not corrected in time.

3. Periodontitis: If inflammation often occurs around one side of the teeth, causing swelling and pain, people will use the other side's teeth to chew when eating in order to avoid the inflamed area, and develop a habit of chewing on one side over a long period of time.

2. The harm of chewing food on one side

1. Unilateral chewing can cause the unused side to be underdeveloped due to lack of stimulation for chewing function, while the chewing side has more developed chewing muscles due to excessive force. Over time, significant asymmetry in size occurs on both sides of the face. Especially for teenagers, who are in the period of physical development, long-term unilateral chewing is more likely to cause hemifacial deformity, which directly affects the appearance of the face.

2. The teeth on the disused side have no chewing function and lose their self-cleaning function, which can cause plaque accumulation on the disused side and gradually form tartar. Over time, the tartar accumulates more and more, which can easily induce periodontal disease. In addition, the teeth on the chewing side are severely worn due to excessive use and are prone to allergic reactions, that is, the teeth will feel pain when exposed to cold, hot, sour, sweet and other stimuli, and in severe cases, it can lead to inflammation of the dental pulp.

3. People who chew on one side often swallow food whole, which makes it difficult for the amylase in saliva to fully mix with the starch in food, thereby increasing the burden on the stomach and making it easy to get stomach problems.

3. Remedies for unilateral chewing

1. Consciously switch to chewing on the other side

In order to make the masseter muscles symmetrical in size, you should consciously weaken the chewing on the side with the larger masseter muscle and use the smaller masseter muscle more to chew. Over time, this way, the masseter muscles on both sides will become symmetrical.

2. Massage the large side of the cheek and the masseter muscle

The muscle on the side with developed masseter muscle will be harder, so you need to do more massage to soften the masseter muscle. You can apply hot compress for 5 minutes after cleansing your face every day, then add 1-2 drops of face-slimming essential oil and massage for 10 minutes. Keep doing this for a while until the masseter muscle softens and becomes smaller.

3. Single-sided cheek lift

When you have nothing to do every day, puff up the cheek on the side with enlarged masseter muscle, puff up and suck the cheek in rhythm, try to speed up, and do it until you feel a sore feeling in the cheek, then pat it with your hands to relax the muscles.