Can’t stop chewing…

Carl loves to chew. He’ll chew anything he can reach: his collar, his nails, boxes, socks, even the underwear in his hamper. My mother has gone out of her mind trying to find something he can chew on that won’t neccessitate buying new clothes every week or so. Lollipops, cough drops, bubble gum, you name it, she’s bought them for him in dozens and they’re gone in minutes and he’s back to his shirt. At 25, he’d take offence to and refuse to accept a teether or pacifier. So my mom resigned herself to buying bags and bags of socks and distributing them around the house.

This seemed like a reasonable idea until my wisdom teeth started growing in. In order to reduce the pain, I dipped a washcloth in lightly salted water and froze it in a ziploc. Then I’d gnash on the washcloth and the swelling around my teeth would go down and I’d be in less pain. My brother saw this and followed suit, creating his own frozen wash cloth. This then served two purposes; it provided two sensory experiences in the form of the physical pressure on his teeth which he craves, and the temperature change which helps to keep him regulated. As a perk, by gnashing on the frozen washcloth, the frost on the cloth breaks up, but the cloth does not actually tear, so it doesn’t need to be replaced, but can instead be used again and again (he’s only gone through 3 in the last 6 months).

This might provide a new alternative for your young chewer.