The so-called phantom sand grain feeling is a curious, often unexpected sensation that a person experiences when one has the feeling of biting on a grain of sand, when in reality there is no visible sand present, an experience that typically manifests itself while consuming foods that would normally be considered considered completely pure and free from external contaminants, such as a juicy apple or a soft piece of bread, causing a sudden, grinding sensation between the teeth, which not only evokes the unpleasant sensation of physically biting sand, but can also be accompanied with the characteristic, almost audible crunching that one would normally expect only in the direct presence of sand, leading to a confusing and sometimes disturbing sensation, where the reality of what one feels and the absence of an obvious cause creates a labyrinth of sensory confusion creates.