Onychophagia, commonly known as To bite nailsis a chronic condition of repetitive and compulsive nature. Nail biting is a bad habit that many people have and that, in fact, is of great concern to professionals whose field of study is psychiatry, psychology, medicine and dentistry.
Although it may become a public health problemnail biting has been an area in which very little research has been done, but enough to know the problems it can cause.
Consequences of nail biting
nail shortening
When we bite our nails we are causing trauma and, if on top of that we do it repeatedly, we could say that it is a chronic trauma.
Chronic trauma to the nail unit (the nail and its surroundings) can cause a progressive shortening of the nail combined with degeneration of the distant nail bed (the nail).
Infections of the surrounding white tissue
These infections of the soft tissue around the nail are called paronychia and are due to a common consequence of chronic compulsive nail biting
In addition, papilloma virus and herpes infections (which are quite common in this type of lesion) can lead to the development of contagious warts.
Infections in the oral cavity
There is always the risk of seeding of pathogens and transferring these between the oral cavity and the fingers. The oral cavity has increased susceptibility to infection and trauma, so, normally, if there is not good oral hygiene, it can cause many problems. Still, as we discussed, obviously it is best not to bite your nails to avoid any kind of problems.
Dental problems
Eventually, the teeth can chip or chip along with the swollen gums. Biting pressure can cause small fractures at the edges of the incisorsapical root resorption, alveolar destruction or gingivitis.
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