What to do if you bite your tongue?

It happens that people bite their tongue. Some people bite their tongue occasionally, others regularly. In addition to folk omens associated with this phenomenon, there is a reasonable explanation.

Causes of the tongue biting

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

• neurological - in disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems there is tonic tension of the masticatory muscles, which leads to unregulated contraction;
• psychological - stress, overstrain provoke arbitrary movement of the maxillofacial muscles;
• Dental - improper bite, poor quality treatment, ill-fitting braces, ill-fitting dentures;
• osteopathic - the consequences of birth trauma, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

Risk factors

Alcoholism, excessive smoking, sleeping pills, antidepressants can aggravate the problem of tongue biting. Risk factors also include impaired nasal breathing due to frequent rhinitis, adenoids, deviated nasal septum, infection with helminths, abuse of chewing gum. Sometimes after anesthesia for treatment and extraction of teeth there is a loss of sensitivity, and with it the excessive chewing effort required.

Symptoms of the tongue biting

Biting the tongue, you immediately feel pain, it forms an ulcer, redness, sometimes there is a bump. Especially follows a violent reaction when a child did it. Most often this happens during meals.

In sleep, usually biting is not noticed until waking up and only then a person feels discomfort in the mouth, soreness and burning when brushing teeth, chewing food. Bite the tongue can be very strong, and the wound bleeds, in the area of its localization is sometimes formed suppuration, an inflammatory process develops.

Often parents complain that their child clacks their jaw at night and bites their tongue, sometimes they manage to bite under their tongue.

Complications and consequences

A severe form of spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the jaw 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 develop into a tuberculous ulcer, keratinization of the mucosa (leukoplakia), malignant formation.

Diagnostics of the tongue biting

To determine the diagnosis it is necessary to initially consult a dentist, who on the basis of anamnesis, examination can determine the cause of grinding and biting the tongue or refer for a more detailed examination to a neurologist, send biomaterial for histology.

Treatment of the 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 discomfort and inconvenience. This is why it requires treatment.

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

• will grind off the sharp edges of your teeth;
• will install a brace system to correct a bad bite, special plates that reduce the force of jaw compression;
• will treat decayed teeth, reinstall dentures, and replace old fillings.

What should a person do if he bites his tongue? How to treat an ulcer? If the wound is bleeding, you should press it tightly against the palate or cheek. Ice wrapped in a clean piece of cloth or a sterile bandage will help stop the blood.

It is good to rinse your mouth with a mouthwash, if you have one in the house. A salt solution (a teaspoon of salt per glass of warm water), a mixture of equal parts of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water, a solution of baking soda is also suitable.

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

Among folk recipes, honey has a good therapeutic effect. Putting a spoonful in the 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 sweet will only increase its antibacterial effect.

Prevention

The main preventive measure is regular visits to the dentist, timely treatment of teeth, elimination 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 who suffer from epileptic attacks should tell others about their problem, give advice about it.

When taking food, you should chew it slowly, without hurrying.

Forecast

The prognosis is favorable, with lesions healing quickly or longer if responded to.

Folk luck to bite your tongue

What do people associate biting your tongue with? According to one version of the omen warns of a quarrel with your environment, according to another - about the fact that ill-wishers are judging about you. But probably the most correct one is that it is time to stop the conversation and not to spill out unnecessary information.