Daughter Chewing on EVERYTHING!!!

Please get her to an occupational therapist (one who specializes in young kids) for immediate evaluation. She may have a sensory processing issue, as others said, or she may be like my friend's son, who needs to chew to focus his mind on any task.

She needs evaluation and help now, because from what you describe she is at a high risk of choking!

She needs safe items for chewing, and those are available, but you need an OT to work with you on what items to use and how to make them available to her. Don't go it alone and just buy her "chewies" -- get her help as well. This is something other families experience too, so you are not alone.

She may still have molars coming in.
Or she may have an oral fixation. It's not unusual in young or even older children, I chewed my pens and pencils all the way through junior high.
Check with your dentist to make sure she isn't damaging her teeth, but beyond that just remind her that only food should go into her mouth.

My four (five in december) year old is a chewer. Shirts, blankets, stuffed animals, zipper pulls, mittens, drawstrings, rubber mulch, mouths the weather stripping on windows if he is leaning against it, gnaws on the handrails of a bridge; if it is near his mouth, he will chew it. That includes himself - fingers, arms, knees. He is a sensory seeker and his OT gave us some "chew toys" to try. They don't stop the chewing but redirect it to something more appropriate. His favorite is a Chewy Charm that we got from Sensory University (available on amazon). Even if it is just a phase, an appropriate item could save her shirts/sleeves and make the habit more bearable.

I like the 6 year molars thought. I hope that's what it is!

Excessive chewing can be a sign of a sensory processing issue. It may be worth asking the school about.

There are companies that make things for kids that "need" to chew: http://www.therapyshoppe.com/therapy/index.php?main_page=...

Let her chew sugar free gum or get her a chewy necklace.

It could be sensory processing. Seek out an OT therapist as soon as possible. I am going to send you a private message, too.

I don't mean to scare the britches off of you, but I'm going to take the chance that I will and hope that you will forgive me for it. At about the same age, maybe a bit younger, our GD L did this, she actually ate through a shirt she was wearing one day when we had her. No other outer signs, no loss of eye contact, literally nothing. It turns out that she was having petit mal seizures. She had been having them for years without us, her parents, her other GPs, Aunts, Uncles, and other much beloved family members ever noticing it. One GM is an RN. Please IMMEDIATELY have her checked out. If nothing else, just to make sure she doesn't have epilepsy. We didn't realize it until she suffered a Grand Mal and almost lost her.

My 4.5 is a chewer. I bought her a bracelet and necklace set she can chew on.

My daughter loves putting her clothes in her mouth when she is nervous.

Yep, my DD (5) is a chewer - she has even bitten holes in several pants and shirts. It's a nervous/comfort thing - some people bite their nails, other twiddle their hair and some kids chew or suck on clothes and other items.
We just keep reminding her and it has gotten a bit better.
Good luck!

If you have kept up with her regular dental appointments and the doc said she didn't have any cavaties then you could call and ask them what they want to do. The dentist may want to do a quick X-ray to make sure she hasn't chipped a tooth or got a crack down deep inside.

When teeth hurt we chew on stuff to make them wiggle around and push the painful tissue away so it won't hurt anymore.

So I think calling the pediatric dentist in the morning so he can do a check up and then rule out something abscessed.