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What to do if you bite your tongue?
Last reviewed: 13.11.2022
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Sometimes people bite their tongues. For some it happens occasionally, for others it happens regularly. In addition to alternative signs associated with this phenomenon, there is a reasonable explanation.
Causes of the tongue biting
So why does tongue biting happen? There are several main reasons:
- neurological - in case of violations of the central and peripheral nervous systems, there is a tonic tension of the masticatory muscles, which leads to their unregulated contraction;
- psychological - stress, overvoltage provoke voluntary movement of the maxillofacial muscles;
- dental - malocclusion, poor-quality treatment, poorly selected braces, ill-fitting dentures;
- osteopathic - the consequences of birth injuries, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Risk factors
Alcoholism, excessive smoking, sleeping pills, antidepressants can aggravate the problem of biting the tongue. Risk factors also include a violation of nasal breathing, which occurs as a result of frequent rhinitis, adenoids, curvature of the nasal septum, helminth infection, and chewing gum abuse. Sometimes after anesthesia during the treatment and extraction of teeth, there is a loss of sensitivity, and with it an excess of the effort required for chewing.
Symptoms of the tongue biting
Having bitten the tongue, you immediately feel pain, an ulcer forms on it, redness, sometimes a lump appears. A violent reaction especially follows when the child did it. Most often this happens during meals.
In a dream, biting is usually not noticed until waking up, and only then does a person feel discomfort in the mouth, soreness and burning while brushing teeth, chewing food. You can bite your tongue very hard, while the wound bleeds, suppuration sometimes forms in the area of its localization, and an inflammatory process develops.
Often parents complain that the child clicks his jaw and bites his tongue at night, sometimes they manage to bite under the tongue.
Complications and consequences
A severe form of spasmodic contraction of the jaw muscles can lead not only to the formation of wounds on the tongue, but also to the erasure of tooth enamel, the development of inflammatory-dystrophic periodontal tissues.
The wound itself can degenerate into a tuberculous sore, keratinization of the mucous membrane (leukoplakia) occurs, and a malignant formation forms.
Diagnostics of the tongue biting
To determine the diagnosis, you must first contact a dentist, who, based on an anamnesis, examination, can determine the cause of the grinding and biting of the tongue, or refer him for a more detailed examination to a neuropathologist, send biomaterial for histology.
Treatment of the tongue biting
The problem of biting the tongue does not seem to us significant and, nevertheless, the wound can hurt and heal up to a week, causing inconvenience and discomfort. That is why she needs treatment.
Everything related to dental problems will be decided by the doctor:
- grinds the sharp edges of the teeth;
- install a bracket system to correct malocclusion, special plates that reduce the force of jaw compression;
- treat carious teeth, reinstall dentures, replace old fillings.
What should a person do if he bites his tongue? How to treat an ulcer? If the wound bleeds, press it firmly against the palate or cheek. Ice wrapped in a clean piece of cloth or a sterile bandage will help stop the bleeding.
It's a good idea to rinse your mouth with mouthwash if you have one at home. Salt solution is also suitable (a teaspoon of salt per glass of warm water), a mixture in equal parts of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water, a solution of baking soda.
You can lubricate the bitten tongue with aloe vera gel, analgesic and antiseptic for the oral cavity, dental adhesive paste, milk of magnesia, sold in a pharmacy. In order not to swallow these funds, it is best to apply them on a bandage and hold them against the wound. The frequency of treatment should be at least 3 times a day.
Of the alternative recipes, honey has a good healing effect. Putting a spoon in your mouth, you need to hold it there for a while, without swallowing. It envelops the mucous membrane, protects against the reproduction of pathogens. Adding turmeric to the sweetness will only increase its antibacterial effect.
Prevention
The main preventive measure is regular visits to the dentist, timely dental treatment, elimination of sharp irregularities that have formed, adjustment of prostheses, replacement of worn ones, and correction of the bite. When engaging in traumatic sports, it is necessary to use protective equipment.
People suffering from epileptic seizures should tell others about their problem, give recommendations on this matter.
When taking food, you need to chew it slowly, without haste.
Forecast
The prognosis is favorable, lesions heal quickly or take longer to heal if treated.
Alternative omen to bite your tongue
And what do people associate biting the tongue with? According to one version, the sign warns of a quarrel with your surroundings, according to another, that ill-wishers are talking about you. But, probably, the surest - it's time to stop the conversation and not blurt out unnecessary information.