Tongue is an important muscle part in the mouth with taste, chewing and speaking roles. There are situations that you accidentally bite your tongue and may feel pain afterwards. It is quite normal that biting tongue happens and there is usually no serious problem. You may have experienced that often.
Tongue muscle benefits from enormous supply of blood through the veins. If severe injuries occur to tongue, it can cause a lot of bleeding and you will need a doctor to treat the injured tongue. But a bit tongue from chewing harshly or during sleeping will most likely leave just pain and a minor cut, which will cause no worries. Gurgle a warm saltwater rinse and rinse your mouth with a hydrogen peroxide mouthwash to kill bacteria and clean your mouth and tongue regularly. This way you will speed up the healing time. Sometime scars and cuts seem to be scary as blood and saliva mix and when you spit out, it looks a large and deep blood loss. Check it out by cleaning your tongue first. Maybe it is just tiny cut.
What causes biting tongue?
You happen to bite your tongue by mistake unconsciously or intentionally as a bad habit. The most common causes if you bite your tongue are:
- when chewing or speaking
- ill-fitting dentures and prosthodontic appliance in your mouth
- misaligned jaws and problems like overbite, deep bite and underbite
- stress
- after oral surgical procedures because of anesthesia and numbing feeling of your tongue
- bad habits such as lip biting or tongue biting
- injuries from falling or exercising
- accidents like bicycle, car or motorcycle accidents
- sleep disorders
- seizures or epileptic disorders
What happens if I bit my tongue and bleed?
Bleeding a tongue as a result of chewing or biting will stop within minutes unless the cut is deep, which you will require doctors’ intervention. If you realize that the wound or the cut of your tongue is not serious, try home disinfection and cleaning your tongue carefully at home. You will see if the cut is deep or not when your tongue is cleaned. After removing debris and disinfection is done, put a sterile gauze or a clean cloth on the injured area until it heals.njured area until it heals.
Does tongue biting need stiches?
Tongue injuries resolve and heal quickly if happen because of just a bite when chewing or speaking. You hardly go under surgical operations that need stiches. In serious tongue injuries like accidents, violent fights, falls and severe traumas to the tongue, you may get deep lacerations and cuts. Here doctors will use sutures to close the cuts on your tongue.
How to prevent a bit tongue
- Eat patiently and avoid eating foods that are too hot or too cold
- Use orthodontic devices recommended by your dentist especially for children when bit tongue is the result of sleeping disorders
- Use athletic guards or mouthguards when exercising or playing hard physical sports
- Consult a psychologist when too much stress is the cause
- Have your dentures fixed and refit if the dentures are to blame
Treat a bit tongue at home
For most minor injuries of tongue, you don’t need to go to a doctor. Do the following disinfecting and cleaning tasks to help the tongue heal fast. Possibility of infection and appearance of tongue ulcers is high when there is a wound or cut, so don’t let your guard down. Steps to treat a bit tongue:
- wash your tongue and clean it with a clean piece of cloth
- put a sterilized gauze on the wound to stop bleeding
- when bitting swells, wrap ice pack or ice peas around a clean cloth and lay it on your TONGUE
- rinse your mouth with solution from salt water (try it a few days until healing is complete)
