Believe it or not, you can nail your nibbling habit—and the sooner, the better. Experts have linked nail-biting to a host of disorders, including swollen gums, tooth loss, jaw problems, facial pain, infections, and headaches.

Here are a few key ways to break the habit. You also can try these techniques with youngsters. Just remember to praise them for their efforts:

• Trim rough, ragged nails and file them smooth. Broken nails can be very tempting to nibble.
• Buy a bitter-tasting resin that you dab on nails and surrounding skin. Applying nail polish also may tame the urge to gnaw.
• Learn to do something else when you feel the urge to chew. For example, make fists for a minute or so. But be careful not to swap one bad habit for another. Biting a pencil or sucking on a toothpick can lead to mouth injury, too!