What to do if you bite your tongue?

It happens that people bite their tongues. For some, it happens occasionally, for others, it happens regularly. In addition to the folk signs associated with this phenomenon, there is a reasonable explanation.

Causes tongue biting

So why does tongue biting occur? There are several main reasons:

• neurological - when the central and peripheral nervous systems are disturbed, tonic tension of the masticatory muscles occurs, which leads to their unregulated contraction;
• psychological – stress and overexertion provoke voluntary movement of the jaw and facial muscles;
• dental – malocclusion, poor quality treatment, poorly fitted braces, ill-fitting dentures;
• osteopathic – consequences of birth injuries, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

Risk factors

The problem of tongue biting can be aggravated by alcoholism, excessive smoking, sleeping pills, antidepressants. Risk factors also include impaired nasal breathing, which occurs due to frequent rhinitis, adenoids, curvature of the nasal septum, helminth infection, and abuse of chewing gum. Sometimes after anesthesia during treatment and tooth extraction, there is a loss of sensitivity, and with it, the effort required for chewing is exceeded.

Symptoms tongue biting

When you bite your tongue, you immediately feel pain, an ulcer forms on it, redness, and sometimes a lump appears. A particularly violent reaction follows when a child does this. Most often, this happens while eating.

In a dream, biting usually goes unnoticed until awakening, and only then does a person feel discomfort in the mouth, pain and burning while brushing teeth, chewing food. You can bite your tongue very hard, and the wound bleeds, and sometimes suppuration forms in the area of its localization, and an inflammatory process develops.

Parents often complain that their 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 sores on the tongue, but also to the abrasion of tooth enamel and the development of inflammatory-dystrophic periodontal tissues.

The wound itself can degenerate into a tuberculous ulcer, keratinization of the mucous membrane (leukoplakia) can occur, and a malignant tumor can form.

Diagnostics tongue biting

To determine the diagnosis, you must first contact a dentist, who, based on the anamnesis and examination, can determine the cause of grinding and biting of the tongue or refer you for a more detailed examination to a neurologist, send biomaterial for histology.

Treatment tongue biting

The problem of biting the tongue does not seem significant to us, and yet the wound can hurt and heal for up to a week, causing inconvenience and discomfort. That is why it requires treatment.

Anything related to dental problems will be decided by a doctor:

• polishes sharp edges of teeth;
• will install a brace system to correct malocclusion, special plates that reduce the force of jaw compression;
• will treat dental caries, reinstall dentures, and replace old fillings.

What should a person do if he or she has bitten their tongue? How to treat a sore? If the wound is bleeding, it should be pressed firmly against the roof of the mouth or cheek. Ice wrapped in a clean piece of cloth or a sterile bandage will help stop the bleeding.

It is a good idea to rinse your mouth with mouthwash if you have one at home. A saline solution (a teaspoon of salt per glass of warm water), a mixture of equal parts of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water, or a solution of baking soda will also work.

You can lubricate the bitten tongue with aloe vera gel, anesthetic and antiseptic for the oral cavity, dental adhesive paste, milk of magnesia, sold in pharmacies. In order not to swallow these products, it is best to apply them to a bandage and hold, pressing it to the wound. The frequency of treatment should be at least 3 times a day.

Among folk recipes, honey has a good healing effect. After 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 pathogenic microorganisms. 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, removal of sharp irregularities, fitting of dentures, replacement of worn-out ones, 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 and give recommendations on this matter.

When eating food, you need to chew it slowly, without rushing.

Forecast

The prognosis is good, the injuries heal quickly or over a longer period of time if they are responded to.

Folk omen: bite your tongue

And what do people associate biting your tongue with? According to one version, the sign warns of a quarrel with your surroundings, according to another - that ill-wishers are gossiping about you. But, probably, the most correct one is - it's time to stop the conversation and not blurt out unnecessary information.