I bit my tongue!

June 18, 2005 8:18 AM

A few days ago, I bit my tongue while eating. A steady care regime of "do nothing and wait for it to fix itself" hasn't worked. How can I help the process along?

A few years ago, I had the front molar on the bottom-right side removed. This is right next to where I bit my tongue, so my tongue keeps getting sucked into that little space. Yesterday, I tried filling in that area with gauze; while that helped the healing along slightly, it also prohibited eating or drinking. I wore it to bed, but it didn't work so well there, and I'm back to square one.

Can anyone recommend some OTC oral pain killers, or a method to keep my tongue from finding that little spot?

posted by billybunny to health & fitness (6 comments total)

Cut tongues particularly this, burnt mouths and burnt mouths.
I'd persist with the guaze and get some local anaesthetic gel - all mentioned in these links. It should heal fast if you can stop re-hurting it.
posted by peacay at 8:48 AM on June 18, 2005

There are many inexpensive topical painkillers for sores in the mouth. Just go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist what s/he recommends
posted by winston at 9:47 AM on June 18, 2005

Rinse with Amosan.
posted by fionab at 10:22 AM on June 18, 2005

Can you try packing the space between your teeth with dental/orthodontic wax? I'm the goof who burned her mouth last week (it's about 70% better but still a little bothersome!) and being able to wax one of my braces brackets has helped tremendously. I don't know if the wax will stick to the sides of the adjacent teeth without having some additional "hardware" in there, but it might be worth a try. You should be able to get a little tray of wax for a couple of bucks at any pharmacy.
posted by scody at 10:53 AM on June 18, 2005

yes to Amosan. It may have a different trade name depending what country you're in (I moved from UK to US and the name changed, tho sorry but i don't recall the other name). It's a perborate-based powder that you mix with water than use as a mouthwash.

It really does do the trick for ulcers and other mouth injuries.

Don't eat between tooth-brushings, nor drink anything but water.
posted by anadem at 11:58 PM on June 18, 2005

Wash your mouth out with salty water - like a teaspoon of salt to a cup of lukewarm water. That's what my dentist has told me to do every time I've had dental surgery (which is a lot) to keep my mouth clean and let it heal. I usually do it after every meal.

I had braces too and the wax works well although it's probably tricky to pack in there.

Also, Orajel is available everywhere in the US and is quite strong. I bought some for my son when he was teething while we were holidaying in California, and accidentally got some in my mouth opening the tube. It numbed my entire mouth and throat for twenty minutes with a fairly small amount.
posted by tracicle at 2:53 PM on June 19, 2005