General Question

simone54's avatar

I like hurting my gums. Is this normal?

Asked by simone54 (7642points) March 10th, 2012

For as long I as I can remember I have alway enjoyed slight pain in my gums. I used to take a tooth pick and push it between my molars. Now I have been tying a knot in floss pulling it through my gums.

I don’t know why I like it. I just do.

Is this total crazy? Am I the only one?

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13 Answers

Response moderated (Unhelpful)
CaptainHarley's avatar

I wouldn’t call it “crazy,” but it is a tad unusual. I had a cousin who use to do the same thing.

Tuesdays_Child's avatar

I agree with @CaptainHarley, I’m not sure this would fall into the “crazy” category. However, it would be interesting to find out the reasoning behind the idea of it being an enjoyable stimulus…

deni's avatar

Right there with ya. Yeah it’s kinda weird, everyone is always yelling at me “STOP FLOSSING!” “YOU’VE BEEN FLOSSING FOR AN HOUR” I’m like, shut up, it feels GREAT.

Keep_on_running's avatar

When you feel pain your body releases feel-good chemicals, some people have a predisposition to become addicted to them. It all has to do with the wiring of the neurotransmitters in the brain. It’s not completely abnormal and you’re not crazy.

simone54's avatar

Addicted. Yeah, that’s the word.

SpatzieLover's avatar

It sounds to me to be a sensory stimulating experience for you.

My best over the Internet guess: You most likely have an oral hyposensitivity.

Do you prefer hard/crunchy foods to soft foods? Do you chew on pen caps or anything else with a hard texture?

To avoid damaging your gums, I’d recommend you use a gum stimulator to massage your gums, too.

jca's avatar

My advice is be careful you don’t get an infection or do some irreparable damage.

saint's avatar

It is probably not normal

gondwanalon's avatar

I’m pretty sure that most dental care professionals would not approve of your habits.

Ask this question to you dentist and or dental hygienist the next time that you go to get your teeth cleaned.

My dental hygienist told me that I was flossing too many times a day. I was told to cool it on the flossing, never use a tooth pick and start using a “Proxabrush” (Like this) to clean the wide gaps at the base of the back molars.

Good luck!

Clair's avatar

It’s bizarre but I’m similar. I like to hurt my entire mouth interior. I love to eat so much cereal that it just shreds my mouth apart, then eat something really spicy afterward. Or chew a whole pack of Big Red at one time and leave it in one spot until it burns so badly that my eyes water. It may be ‘unusual’ but I don’t think it’s that different than someone enjoying spicy foods or something of the like. You’re not alone!

paulaxx2's avatar

I HAVE THE EXACT SAME THING!! now i have a slight gap in my back tooth and ever since I was young I like to poke sharp objects in it such as earrings, tooth picks or even pull it with strings, but it brings me a weird kind of pleasure, in fact I am doing it right now! I don’t know what it is but I seem to enjoy it and I know it could cause damage to my gums in the future but I just seem to enjoy it! just be carful that you don’t rip your gums :)

simone54's avatar

I’m not the only one! Thank you @paulaxx2!!! Try a bent open paper clip. Those are great. See if you can get it all the way through.

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