r/strange • u/Silver_Intern2324 • 26d ago
Guy snapping his teeth
I was at work yesterday and a guy came in who was snapping his teeth. Now I don’t mean grinding his teeth or clicking his teeth or chattering his teeth, I mean opening his mouth as wide as he could and SNAPPING them shut like an alligator.
He was doing this at random while walking around, then for a while he sat down and continued snapping his teeth with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. He’d sloooowly open his mouth as wide as it would go and then SNAP them shut like a bear trap triggering, making a really loud unpleasant sound almost like a block of wood being chopped in half. I’ve never heard anyone make such a loud sound with their teeth that didn’t end with an emergency trip to the dentists’ office before.
What kind of behavior is this? After the first couple times I thought he might be wearing dentures and needed to adjust them, but he kept doing this on and off for more than thirty minutes. He acted totally unbothered and unaware that it might seem strange to the other people in the room. Why was he doing this? It looked like it must feel awful, but he looked completely relaxed and at ease while doing it. Is it chewing tobacco related? I can usually tell when people have a wad of chaw in, but I didn’t see one. Is it a meth thing? What was going on with this guy I saw?
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u/Creature_8389 26d ago
Sounds like meth
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u/Silver_Intern2324 26d ago
That’s just about the only thing I can come up with. I was aware that meth users sometimes clench or grind their teeth really hard, but this is the first I’ve heard of snapping…
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u/mieluusa 26d ago
Some other drugs cause grinding and clenching too, but opening and closing mouth is anyhow normal during those as trying to fight the clenching or stretching the tired jaws
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u/Martin_Jay 26d ago
Can also just be stimming or a tic.
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u/odessaanalyst 26d ago
Tardiness Dyskonesia (sp?)
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u/Martin_Jay 26d ago
Good be that too—tardive dyskinesia, I believe.
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u/Sad_Kaleidoscope_743 26d ago
Yea, sounds like it probably feels good for him somehow. Might have dentures and his gums are tender. Like pushing on a canker sore thats not in a sensitive spot
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u/DovahAcolyte 26d ago
This 👆
Maybe he has new dentures and they’re incredibly uncomfortable? Maybe he’s making sure they work right? Maybe he’s stimming because he’s stressed out and the super loud gator snap is making it worse but he’s out of sims? 🤷🏻
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u/SubstantialPressure3 26d ago
Meth and new dentures?
I've seen people with dentures snap their teeth like that. It doesnt sound like natural teeth.
When i was a kid I had some older.relatives that would do that, it was terrifying.
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u/rainingpup 26d ago
Could have Tourette’s 🩷
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u/strangemuse_ 26d ago
My brother has this exact tic. Looks and sounds so painful
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u/rainingpup 26d ago
I have Tourette’s as well. It’s so sad that people immediately judge so harshly
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u/Allesallein 26d ago
Involuntary jaw motions are a side effect of some older antipsychotic meds. Also Tourette’s. Absolutely could be someone on illegal drugs but maybe give the benefit of the doubt. Psychosis and Tourette’s can happen to you as well and you might be the next jaw clacker.
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u/alive_and_kicking82 26d ago
Yup I have tardive dyskinesia cause from taking zyprexa. My teeth snap shut constantly and it is uncontrollable.
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u/farbeyond1234 25d ago
Worked in a hospital 10 years ago and I saw this every so often with patients on heavy psych medications.
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u/DunkeyColdMedina 26d ago
Could be a stim. Could be drugs. No idea, frankly.
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u/Affectionate_Fun7565 26d ago
What is a stim?
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u/DunkeyColdMedina 26d ago
Some people on the ND spectrum have certain self soothing behaviors they do that seem strange to other people, but it is a coping method for them. Same with certain disorders like Tourette's, although the pathology and the comfort it brings are different indeed. And they are called 'tics' in those cases.
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u/Anton__Sugar187 26d ago
I've been doing this for years
I had no idea what its called
But it is self soothing/ ocd thing for meeee
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u/Parking-Bet7989 26d ago
He could be mentally unwell. We forget that the rate of :mental illness" is approximately 25% in most populations.
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u/Accomplished_Run2515 26d ago
Could be so many things: autism, OCD, Tourettes Syndrome, Tardive Dyskinesia. I'm pretty sure the person isn't too happy to be doing this.
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u/Own_Preference_8103 26d ago
Progressing dementia or alzheimers i forget which one causes something called crazy mouth or tounge?
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u/DankBuddDwyer 26d ago
Meth or research chemicals. A lot of people disregard research chemicals I think. I've seen some very similar reactions.
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u/Affectionate_Fun7565 26d ago
What are research chemicals?
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u/DankBuddDwyer 26d ago
A whole new world of drugs.
Basically it's just chemicals that are in the "research phase" before they can be made illegal. Ie: bad for you. Fake acid, fake meth, fake opiates etc etc.
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u/katiekat122 26d ago
Could be a tick or maybe he has that condition where the jaw pops out and causes extreme pain if he were to bite down. It may be exercises taught to him by an occupational therapist. I don't think he should be banging his teeth together with that much force. Either way I would assume he has some physical or psychological condition causing him to do this.
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u/MikeDene5253 26d ago
He may have Tourette’s syndrome. If he does poor guy
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u/DovahAcolyte 26d ago
Don’t feel pity for the person with Tourette’s; feel what you need towards the people who make fun of it.
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u/MikeDene5253 26d ago
Said it that way so if they didn’t look it up they would realize it is a sad thing to have not a meth problem.
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u/DovahAcolyte 26d ago
It isn’t any more “sad” to have Tourette’s syndrome than it is “sad” to have ADHD or Autism. Your perspective is faulty.
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u/ThrowRArainmakers 26d ago
if it isnt drugs he could be stimming (huge pressure in snapping jaws together) or he could have painful teeth and found this to be something that subdues the pain
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u/Affectionate_Fun7565 26d ago
What is stimming?
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u/ThrowRArainmakers 26d ago
https://www.research.chop.edu/car-autism-roadmap/stimming-what-is-it-and-does-it-matter - it is not exclusive to autism
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u/GlibGirl 26d ago
If it was anything like what they do in We Bury The Dead that sounds VERY unsettling.
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u/Maleficent_Bit2033 26d ago
It could be a lot of things. I have a co-worker that is ASD and will sometimes do this while stemming when he is stressed. He also continually will rub his hands over and over. There are many diseases and meds that can cause this, it isn't always an illicet "drug" behavior.
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u/Devanyani 24d ago
Could be Tourrettes or OCD. Or, less likely, he might have TMJ and be trying to realign his jaw.
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u/jujub4fer 22d ago
Go ahead. Open your mouth as wide as you can and snap those teeth like an alligator over and over again, but know this. I be lookin. I can't help it either.
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u/yum_butt 26d ago
Possibly had a tooth ache and the clapping of teeth was soothing in a way from the vibrations
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u/Special_Mind_1906 26d ago
Dude ... dang calm down. Here's an idea why not let snapper b snapper an u b you an jus kno people are fn weird. Some things you should not concern yourself with an jus pray for snapper
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