How to stop biting the same swollen wound on the inside my mouth?

March 18, 2013 4:39 AM

How can I stop biting the same freaking spot on the inside of my mouth? I'm tired of seasoning my meals with blood and pain.

This feels like a silly question, but whatevs...

A month ago I bit the inside of my lip horribly hard and it hurt like crazy. I got this really bad mouth sore that took a couple of days to heal, which made it swollen and more likely to be bitten...which is exactly what I've accidentally been doing everyday since. I keep opening the wound and making it more and more swollen and it hurts horribly!

Is this bad enough for me to go to a dentist? or is there a home remedy for this?

posted by Tarumba to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

check out this previous thread

I know about this thread because I came to ask.me looking for this exact question...because my mouth hurts SO much right now.

What surprised me, when the pain got so bad that I couldn't sleep, is that a motrin temporarily took away much of the pain, which seemed to give my mouth the relief it needed to start healing, because the very next day it started becoming smaller.
posted by cacao at 4:45 AM on March 18, 2013

Yours is in the front, from your description, but fwiw when I had this problem on the inside of the cheek, turned out the dentist just needed to smoothen the ragged outside edge of a runaway molar to make the difference. Sometimes teeth will get pushed around by others... no harm getting that aspect checked out as well. I believe they ask you to bite down on this special paper which lets them see the bite marks in a different colour.
posted by infini at 5:19 AM on March 18, 2013

Best answer: Could you stand to eat a soft diet for a few days? Yogurt, apple sauce, soup, ice cream, oatmeal, etc... You may be able to get over the hump of healing without interference by just, you know, not chewing for a few days.
posted by telegraph at 5:39 AM on March 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yeah, give your mouth a rest from chewing for at least three days. Rinse with warm salt water every few hours, and maybe take an anti-inflammatory like Advil or Motrin as suggested above.
posted by Specklet at 5:51 AM on March 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

I rely on Kank-A for sore spots in my mouth.
posted by Carol Anne at 5:52 AM on March 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

There is a ridge that runs along the inside of our cheeks, near where the bottom row of teeth rest. Mine is weirdly large, so I'm always chomping it by accident, and then chomping it again and again due to the swelling. My standard protocol is a hydrogen peroxide mouth wash like PerOxyl several times a day, some advanced eating techniques, and occasionally some careful food selection. Try eating with the opposite side of the mouth. In your case, that would mean using your molars as much as possible, which would be a pain, I know. You might also try inflating the injured area with air while chewing. It takes practice but is so nice when my jaw starts hurting from uneven chewing. That is also why I sometimes cheat and go for a milkshake, ice cream, pudding, etc. Non-chewy foods are awesome.

Within a day or two I usually notice an improvement, and after another day or two, am close to being healed. Small red lines are common for another day or two after. If it's hard to see, don't be afraid to get one of those dental mirrors (usually in kits with the picks) so you can monitor it.
posted by jwells at 6:14 AM on March 18, 2013

Baby Orajel, which is exactly the same as regular orajel but tastes like cherries instead of ass, will keep your teeth/tongue from fussing at it in between meals and will reduce pain, which may speed healing. (And, yeah, an applesauce-and-milkshake-based diet for a day or two may help give it a rest to heal.)

Personally, if it had been a month and it HURT, I would go see my dentist just because dentists have lots of cool and helpful treatments for things like that, and mouth pain is awful to deal with. I'm sure it'll clear up on its own, but a month is a long time to suffer and if visiting your dentist is reasonable (cost and time-wise), I'd definitely go say "FIX MEEEEEEEEE!"
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:45 AM on March 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

I have also found that swishing hydrogen peroxide and, seperately, salt water, around the affected area can make a big difference. Also, having a vitamin C deficiency can wreak havoc on the soft tissue in your mouth -- maybe talk to your dentist to see if you need to up your intake to get the balance of things back in order?
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:45 AM on March 18, 2013

Here's what works for me: I take a Q-tip soaked with vodka and apply it to the sore a few times. It does sting, but the wound heals days faster. I flood my mouth with cold water to cleanse the wound and reduce swelling. Works a treat.
posted by effluvia at 8:22 AM on March 18, 2013

Instead of swallowing an anti-inflammatory, dampen an uncoated tablet and use it topically. That should bring the swelling down pretty quickly while also dulling the pain.
posted by DrGail at 8:22 AM on March 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

If it's in a place where this would work, you might try what I did last time I had one. I placed a small folded piece of paper towel between my tooth and the sore spot on my lip. I think this gave the sore spot a rest from the constant abrasion and also kept it cleaner and drier than it was otherwise. I noticed a difference after just a few hours. I'd never heard of this type of treatment, it just came from desperation because the sore spot started tiny but grew much bigger very quickly and was very , very painful.
posted by cellura p at 8:54 AM on March 18, 2013

Swishing water + baking soda in my mouth tends to help me.
posted by Neekee at 9:05 AM on March 18, 2013

Crush an aspirin and dab it on the sore. It helps much as as DrGail says above.
posted by cass at 9:27 AM on March 18, 2013

DO NOT crush an aspirin and put it on the sore. aspirin is a caustic acid that will burn your gum tissue and create a lesion that will be as painful as the bite.
Orabase with benzocaine is the best otc remedy for sores like this, because it's numbing stuff in a thick paste that protects the area, lasts longer than the liquids or gels, and numbs for hours.
most people eventually develop a callus if they habitually bite the same spot. very few people require smoothing of their teeth, but if an edge has been created by a cracked tooth having it fixed will help.
Just DON'T PUT CRUSHED ASPIRIN on your gums or cheek.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:24 PM on March 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

Yes, it's time to see a dentist, if this has been going on that long.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:27 PM on March 18, 2013

I get this all the time, particularly when I'm stressed. In fact, I have developed mucocele twice, once it required surgery. That was no fun, I tell you.

What I do is swish my mouth with salt at least twice, three times a day, usually when I am brushing my teeth. If it is really bad (like turning into a mucocele bad), I will put salt directly on the sore. It is painful but it tends to quickly clear up the problem.

Another thing--are you sleeping enough? Sleep deprivation tends to exacerbate the sores.
posted by so much modern time at 5:25 PM on March 18, 2013

I use a peroxide mouth wash I found at Target, I think it is made by Colgate, that is for mouth sores. I always feel self conscious at the check stand with my bottle of Mouth Wash for Mouth Sores! It does help.

Once, the cycle of biting the inside of my cheek got so bad my dentist prescribed a steroid cream.

I have chubby cheeks and I am very familiar with your predicament. If you are at the point that eating and talking is super difficult, it is worth seeing your dentist. A month is a long time!

One other thing is to take your vitamins, a co-worker of mine would get sores from vitamin deficiency.
posted by dottiechang at 5:53 PM on March 18, 2013