How to treat wounds on the tongue: causes, symptoms, methods of control

Oral injuries

Damage to the mucous membrane of the tongue can occur in the following cases:

1. Brushing your teeth with a brush that is too hard.
2. Broken tooth or damaged filling.
3. Eating foods that can irritate the mucous membrane of the tongue and lead to the appearance of ulcers.
4. Installation of low-quality dentures or braces.
5. Injury to the tongue while eating with cutlery.
6. Biting with teeth.
7. Burns to the mucous membrane of the tongue due to a hot drink.

Considering the large presence of capillaries in the mucous membrane of the tongue and the content of the bactericidal substance lysozyme in saliva, wounds on the tongue in an adult or child of mechanical origin heal quite quickly and do not require the use of special medications.

Tongue traumatism: theory

Before you begin treatment of the tongue, you should carefully study the nature of the injury and its causes.

Mechanical impact

The first type of damage - mechanical - is the most common cause of tongue injuries. Due to mechanical damage, ulcers and superficial erosions form on the tongue.

Conditions under which mechanical injuries occur are of a domestic nature:

• damage to the integument by dental instruments - probe, bur, disc;
• the occurrence of a wound under the influence of a sharp object - a bone, a knife, a fork;
• biting the tongue while eating, epileptic seizure;
• the appearance of tongue injuries from blows to the face.

Healing of a wound caused by mechanical impact occurs depending on the depth and area of ​​damage to the mucous membrane.

Chemical burn

Chemical injury to the tongue, as the second type of injury, occurs due to contact with the mucous membrane of a chemical substance of an acidic or alkaline nature.

Under the influence of an irritant, chemical burns occur on the tongue. The latter are characterized by the appearance of dark-colored areas, scars, blisters and blisters on the tongue (in severe cases).

Instant rinsing of the mouth with solutions with neutralizing properties is the key to rapid restoration of the integument.

For chemical burns, it is preferable to seek help from medical institutions.

Painful influence from the outside

Damage to the mucous membrane by steam, hot water, fire, electric current or ionizing radiation is called physical trauma to the tongue.

Characteristic of this type of injury is pain that gradually subsides from the moment of injury.

The main danger of physical injury is the development of acute catarrhal glossitis (inflammation). Consultation with a doctor in complex stages of injury is mandatory.

Deep damage to the tongue caused by various kinds of external irritants can be accompanied by complications: abscess or phlegmon of the tongue.

Painful swelling and accompanying difficulties with swallowing and speaking are symptoms of an abscess. In later stages, with increasing inflammation of the tongue, the abscess turns into phlegmon. The victim requires emergency hospitalization and surgical intervention.

Other provoking factors

There are several other reasons that can lead to the appearance of wounds on the tongue:

1. Hormonal imbalance, which is often observed during pregnancy or during menstruation in women.
2. Diabetes.
3. Hereditary predisposition.
4. The presence of viral infections in the body.
5. Deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals, for example, B12, iron.
6. Drinking coffee in large quantities.
7. Brushing your teeth with a paste that contains sodium lauryl sulfate.
8. Alcohol abuse.
9. Frequent smoking.
10. Poor oral hygiene.
11. Heatstroke.
12. Avoiding morning meals.

If wounds appear on the tip of the tongue, your doctor will tell you how to treat it, but first you need to find out the cause in order to choose effective therapy.

Let's consider some common pathologies of the body that can provoke such lesions.

Glossitis

This pathology is a type of stomatitis. Manifests itself as an infectious inflammation of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and tongue. The disease most often develops against the background of a variety of reasons that were listed earlier, and is manifested by a variety of symptoms.

Without therapy, the situation will only get worse, so it is better to visit a doctor for advice.

Causes of injury

The lining of the oral cavity is very delicate. Even a slight impact violates its integrity. Any damage leads to infection. The severity of the damage, as well as the clinical picture, depend on the strength of the impact and on the characteristics of the body. The most common type of damage diagnosed is mechanical. Constant injury to the cheek by teeth is dangerous. Based on the depth of the lesion, the following types of pathologies are distinguished:

• Hemorrhage inside tissues, that is, hematoma, when their integrity is not broken;
• Erosion after injury;
• Decubital ulcer;

Most often, erosions occur in irregular shapes. They are covered with a thin whitish-yellow coating. Ulcers, as a rule, are single, there is no swelling around them, they become moderately painful. Their bottom and edges are covered with a fibrinous film. The usual localization of ulcers is the inner side of the cheeks, tongue. With prolonged absence of therapy, their bases and edges become denser. Common causes of damage:

1. In babies in the first months of life, the mucous membrane is affected due to premature eruption of the masticatory organs. Since their dentin, the enamel layer, is underdeveloped, the frenulum, the lower part of the tongue, is injured when sucking. Disruption of the epithelial layer causes inflammation.
2. Biting lips and cheeks after anesthesia form abnormalities. In addition, children are often injured by stuck plates of apple cores.
3. People with increased nervousness may bite their cheeks, tongue, or lips. They often bite pencils and pens.
4. The provoking factor for injury may be the sharp edge of the crowns.
5. Damage occurs from overhanging edges of fillings, from wire splints, from ligatures, from wearing orthodontic systems.
6. Mechanical damage occurs in people who wear improperly installed veneers.
7. Accidental biting occurs when eating in a hurry.
8. Patients often consult a doctor with occlusion problems, carious cavities, and dilapidated crowns.
9. The causes of injury include chips, fractures of masticatory organs, and remnants of roots.

The oral cavity in children can be damaged by sharp toys, household items, and exposure to various bad habits. Defects occur during coughing, when the tongue is pressed tightly against the sharp parts of the lower units.

Sores on the tongue due to syphilis

Among the serious pathologies that cause sores on the tongue is syphilis. With the development of such a pathology, not only internal organs, bones, and the nervous system are affected, but also the mucous membranes are revealed.

As syphilis develops, white sores appear on the tongue. In the first stages of the disease, they do not cause discomfort and are almost invisible. With the development of the inflammatory process in the body, wounds on the tongue of an adult become larger and more painful.

Such sores take a long time to heal; without effective therapy for syphilis itself, it is difficult to achieve a complete cure.

Afty Bednar

In infancy, sores may also appear on the child's tongue. Your pediatrician will tell you how to treat them. This happens in some cases due to frequent sucking on a bottle or pacifier.

The ulcers on the baby's tongue become covered with plaque, which is difficult to remove. The mucous membrane becomes red and swollen, becomes painful, and the baby refuses the breast or bottle.

This pathology can also develop in older children if they have a bad habit of sucking fingers or putting toys in their mouth.

How to treat wounds on the tongue if they are caused by thrush? This pathology often develops in children, so visiting a pediatrician will help quickly help your child get rid of the discomfort and pain that accompany the pathology.

Allergies are the cause of pain

If the wounds on the tongue, photos of which can be seen on stands in many clinics, do not have purulent contents, then the reason may be hidden in a common allergic reaction. It may appear in response to eating certain foods or using hygiene products.

Numerous studies have confirmed that there is a connection between oral wounds and one of the components of toothpaste - sodium lauryl sulfate.

Reasons for appearance

Reasons for education:

• lack of nutrients, iron and vitamin PP in the patient’s body;
• anemia;
• lack of B vitamins;
• allergic reaction to toothpaste or medications;
• chronic fatigue and constant nervous tension;
• mechanical damage to the tongue (nervous biting, chewing);
• disruption of capillary blood flow in the tongue;
• the patient has diseases such as gastritis, enterocolitis, hepatitis, cholecystitis;
• wearing uncomfortable dentures.

The main reason why the tongue is cracked is mechanical injuries due to a lack of vitamins and microelements in the patient’s body. In this case, it is enough to bite your tongue while chewing food so that a painful crack forms at its tip.

Another fairly common reason why a patient’s tongue is cracked is a malfunction in the patient’s central nervous system, which is caused by chronic fatigue, frequent stress, and lack of sleep. This is a reason to suspect a problem with the hypothalamus.

It happens that patients are perplexed: why there are cracks on the tongue, there seems to be no visible reason for their appearance. In this case, the answer to the question of why cracks appear can only be given by an experienced doctor, after a thorough diagnosis. It is necessary to do a detailed blood test to determine which microelements and vitamins are missing in the patient’s body. Quite often, correction of the nutritional system helps get rid of the disease.

Many people are probably interested in the question of what cracks mean. After all, the tongue, as is known, signals the presence of many diseases and pathological conditions of the human body. Cracks in the tongue are a sign of a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body. Quite often, cracks are caused by worms, as they deplete the human body, causing anemia and iron deficiency. They also indicate a diseased liver, since with this disease the human body does not receive many microelements important for health.

Cracks in the tongue on the side can be a sign of thyroid disease; in this case, it swells and is injured at the edges by the patient’s teeth.

Some medications cause sores on the tongue

Drug therapy in some cases can provoke side effects, which may include sores on the tongue. Most often, such conditions are caused by treatment with the following medications:

1. Heart drug "Nicorandil".
2. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug "Indomethacin".
3. Phenytoin, which is used to treat epilepsy.
4. Cytotoxic drugs, which are often part of chemotherapy treatment.

Treatment of wounds on the tongue that have arisen due to medications requires an integrated approach. If the cause is clearly established, then you will have to stop taking the drugs for a while, unless the severity of the consequences exceeds the benefits of treatment, for example, for cancer. It is not recommended to make a decision on your own in such cases; it is better to discuss this issue with your doctor.

Signs of pathology

Sores on the tongue can appear in different places, and the process of their formation goes through several stages:

1. In the first stage, swelling and small blisters appear on the tongue.
2. Next, bubbles appear.
3. The wounds are covered with a layer of white or yellow plaque, and a red border appears.

There are no age preferences for sores on the tongue; they can appear in children and adults. The frequency of their formation varies from several times throughout life, while in others they may appear with enviable regularity.

Usually the sores go away quickly, but if the wound on the tongue does not heal, then you should visit a doctor and find out the cause.

See a doctor urgently

It is necessary to urgently contact a specialist if:

1. A large number of ulcers, wounds and neoplasms appear in the oral cavity.
2. Open wounds appear, accompanied by severe pain.
3. The sores appeared due to wearing dentures or artificial structures in the oral cavity.
4. Sores have appeared on the tongue and are bleeding.
5. The general condition worsens, the temperature rises, weakness.
6. Sores and sores quickly increase in size.
7. I have a headache and a feeling of fullness in the mouth.

If the listed symptoms are present, only a doctor can tell you how to treat wounds on the tongue.

Wound therapy

If sores appear on the tongue that do not cause discomfort, but do not go away for a long time, then you need to consult a doctor to rule out a serious pathology developing in the body.

Comprehensive therapy is required, which will be aimed at:

1. Elimination of the provoking factor.
2. Fighting symptoms.
3. Boosting immunity.

How to treat wounds on the tongue of a child or an adult depends on the cause of their appearance. Therapy may include conservative methods and traditional recipes.

Possible complications

The list of complications from tongue injuries is quite wide. The direction in which the negative consequences will progress depends on the causes of the cuts.

If the integrity of the tooth crown is damaged, the pulp and root of the tooth are at risk - caries-forming bacteria easily penetrate into the soft part of the tooth and through the root canals into the structures of the musculoskeletal system. Complications of this process can be periodontitis, periodontal disease, periodontal abscess with the formation of a fistula, cyst, periostitis and many other diseases of an inflammatory and infectious nature or activation of mechanisms leading to the destruction of tooth ligaments and jaw bone tissue.

Inflammation of the mucous membrane (stomatitis) can lead to complications in the throat, Eustachian tube, middle ear and/or weaken local immune defense to the level where pathogens entering the mucous membrane with food and food will form an “independent” pathological process.

Malocclusions and dental deformation have severe long-term consequences. The dentofacial system is part of the complex of the facial skull and any disturbances in it can change the process of growth and formation of this department. As a result, asymmetry of facial features develops, the airways are formed incorrectly, which leads to disturbances in nasal breathing and a high tendency to vasomotor and atrophic rhinitis, sinusitis, and the functions of the articulatory apparatus are disrupted - the child’s diction is unable to develop and be maintained at a normal level.

It becomes obvious that a typical situation when a child cuts his tongue with a tooth or injures it in some other way can lead to completely atypical consequences, so it is important to be able to provide help yourself and make an appointment with a dentist as soon as possible.

Treatment of wounds on the tongue

If a wound on the tongue occurs after biting your teeth, you can rinse with a solution of soda or hydrogen peroxide. To eliminate pain, you can dissolve tablets with Lidocaine.

In the case where the provocateur of ulcers and wounds on the tongue is an infection, the therapy may be as follows:

1. For stomatitis of a fungal nature, the wounds can be treated with ointments with an antifungal effect. For adults, Nystatin is suitable.
2. You cannot do without antiviral ointments if you have wounds due to a viral disease.
3. The resulting sores with purulent contents must be treated with antibacterial agents, for example, Tetracycline or Achromycin.
4. The fight against the inflammatory process in the oral cavity is carried out using Fluocinonide or Triamcinolone.
5. In case of severe pain, wounds can be treated with a gel with analgesic properties “Oragel”. You need to apply the product to the sores several times a day.

6. To prevent the formation of scars at the site of wounds after healing, it is recommended to use gels or ointments with regenerating properties.
7. It is recommended to rinse your mouth daily with pharmaceutical rinses; you can prepare such products yourself using sage or chamomile.

Considering that white formations on the tongue often occur due to disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract, the fight against them should also combine the use of probiotics to normalize the intestinal microflora.

Treatment

The main question that worries patients with glossalgia is how to cure cracks in the tongue. In fact, everything is not so difficult. The treatment method depends on the cause of glossalgia.

1. First, it is necessary to eliminate the dental causes of tongue cracks - correct an incorrect bite, replace defective fillings, and adjust the prosthesis. Next, the patient should be carefully examined by a therapist, neurologist, and, if necessary, by an endocrinologist and gastroenterologist. And only after this should treatment for glossalgia be prescribed.
2. Typically, treatment for fissures consists of drug therapy and physiotherapeutic procedures. Treatment with medications is to improve blood circulation in the tissues of the oral cavity, as well as to improve general cerebral circulation. For this purpose, drugs such as trental, cavinton, nicotinic acid, and vitamin C are prescribed.
3. The tone of the autonomic nervous system should also be improved; for this purpose, sedatives are prescribed - tincture of valerian, motherwort, persen.
4. Additionally, the doctor may prescribe procedures such as hirudotherapy or electrical neurostimulation using a TENS device. A good effect is achieved by using electrophoresis, as well as iontophoresis of novocaine.
5. If the tongue is severely painful, the doctor may prescribe local painkillers - lidocaine, dicaine.
6. If the patient has cracks in the tongue, plaque and burning, it is necessary to adjust the diet. During treatment, you should completely exclude from the diet foods that irritate the surface of the tongue - such as sour juices, vegetables, pickles and marinades. You should not consume large amounts of spices, especially pepper and salt. It is advisable to quit smoking.
7. After each meal, be sure to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with salted water or a decoction of medicinal herbs. Oak bark, sage, propolis, and honey have a healing effect.

Use of Medicines

If home remedies do not help get rid of sores on the tongue, then you cannot do without medications. Most often, doctors prescribe:

1. Antiseptic drugs that destroy bacteria, reduce the sensitivity of the mucous membranes of the tongue and oral cavity, thanks to analgesic components. This category includes: “Inhalipt”, “Gexoral”, “Strepsils”.
2. Products with disinfecting properties can be used: ethyl alcohol, alcohol solution of iodine, hydrogen peroxide.
3. Dental gels and ointments that not only disinfect, but also relieve pain. These include: “Kamistad”, “Cholisal”, “Solcoseryl”.
4. Rinsing the mouth with a solution of “Furacilin”, “Chlorhexidine”, “Chlorophyllipt”. If you don’t have these drugs on hand, you can prepare a rinse solution from iodine, salt and soda.

All of the listed remedies must be used only with the permission of a doctor and with extreme caution so as not to cause even greater harm to the mucous membrane of the tongue. Medicines should be applied to wounds purposefully, trying not to affect adjacent healthy areas.

Traditional recipes for getting rid of ulcers

How to treat wounds on the tongue if there are no necessary medications in your home medicine cabinet? Then you can use folk recipes that will help alleviate the condition at least a little. Among these are the following:

1. Use of infusions of medicinal herbs. Among the gifts of nature, the following have powerful antiseptic properties: St. John's wort, sage, viburnum berries, and yarrow.
2. Aloe and sea buckthorn oil have healing properties. They can be applied several times a day to wounds.

3. The healing properties of oak bark, propolis, honey and onions have been proven.
4. A decoction of coriander will help cope with sores on the tongue. To prepare it, you need to take a tablespoon of seeds, pour 200 ml of boiling water, and simmer over low heat for half an hour. After cooling, strain and can be used to rinse the mouth. Before the procedure, the broth must be diluted slightly with water.
5. Juice from fresh cabbage will help eliminate the inflammatory process and reduce formations. Soak a cotton swab in the juice of the plant and treat the wounds.
6. Propolis. For treatment you need to prepare a decoction. Pour boiling water over several pieces of propolis and keep in a water bath for 30-40 minutes. Cool to room temperature and use to rinse your mouth every hour.
7. Potato. Peel raw potatoes. Cut into pieces to be applied to the wounds on the tongue. The starch in tubers relieves inflammation and reduces pain.
8. Onion and garlic. Grind one of the vegetables into a paste and apply to damaged areas on the tongue. Phytoncides promote rapid relief of the inflammatory process and suppress the development of pathogenic microorganisms.
9. You can also apply lemon juice directly to the wounds on your tongue.

Greater effectiveness can be achieved if you combine drug treatment with the use of traditional recipes. When using folk remedies, it is necessary to exclude the presence of allergies to some natural gifts.

Causes of wound suppuration

Any wound, small or large, is considered infected because bacteria will get into it anyway. However, this does not always lead to suppuration. In order for this destructive tissue process to develop, additional conditions are required:

• sufficient tissue damage;
• the presence of non-viable tissue in the wound cavity;
• the presence of foreign bodies in the wound cavity;
• the presence of bleeding blood in the wound cavity;
• high concentration of pathogenic microorganisms.

Therefore, the first symptoms of wound suppuration can appear even after an ordinary splinter, provided that a piece of it remains in the body tissue, and at the same time there are pathogenic microorganisms on the foreign body itself. The latter include those that are responsible for the development of the purulent process: staphylococci, streptococci, E. coli and similar microorganisms.

In addition, there is a high risk of suppuration when the patient has a history of diabetes mellitus, vascular and somatic diseases, excess weight and old age.

The nature of the wound also matters for the development of this process. Thus, a puncture wound can fester due to the wound channel being too narrow and due to which there is no normal outflow. In the case where the wound is accompanied by crushing of surrounding tissues, suppuration occurs due to too much dead tissue in the wound and excessive contamination. At the same time, wounds on the head and neck heal faster and better, and worst of all – on the feet.

Danger of wounds on the tongue

If you do nothing and do not find out the cause of the appearance of ulcers and wounds on the tongue, then there is a high probability of developing various complications. These may include the following:

1. Abscess formation.
2. Formation of an abscess with purulent contents inside.
3. When an abscess ruptures, pathogenic microorganisms can enter the bloodstream, causing the infection to spread throughout the body.

If wounds and ulcers appear on the tongue, which do not go away for a long time, and the situation only gets worse over time, you should not put off visiting a doctor. Timely therapy will avoid serious consequences.

The best way out is to avoid injury

Statistics show that most tongue injuries are mechanical in nature, which, in turn, is evidence of negligence. To avoid damage to the oral cavity, follow these simple rules:

• do not get lost in thoughts while eating;
• When eating, do not be distracted;
• do not talk with your mouth full of food;
• Chew your food thoroughly and slowly.

Often the cause of wounds is a malocclusion or unsuitable dentures. An improperly growing or filed tooth also poses a risk to the integrity of the oral cavity.

Be extremely careful and remember that it is better to prevent a traumatic situation from occurring than to suffer trying to cope with its consequences. If you observe suspicious symptoms, be sure to seek help from a dentist or ENT doctor.

How to prevent pathology

It is easier to prevent the disease than to deal with long-term treatment later. Preventive measures include the following tips:

1. Brush your teeth carefully so as not to injure the oral mucosa.
2. Choose a brush of medium hardness.
3. Visit the dentist regularly to treat caries and remove damaged teeth.
4. To clean your teeth, purchase toothpastes that do not contain sodium lauryl sulfate.
5. In the diet, reduce the amount of spicy, sour foods that can irritate the mucous membranes.
6. Use cutlery carefully.
7. Treat infectious and bacterial diseases in a timely manner.

Any wounds and ulcers in the mouth are not only painful and unpleasant, but can also be a symptom of a serious pathology, so you should not rely on self-medication, but rather visit a specialist. Only after finding out the exact cause can effective therapy be selected.

Cut or bitten tongue

Apply cold (ice) to the injured area. If there is bleeding, apply pressure with a bandage or rolled cloth, and if it does not stop within 15 minutes or is not controlled by pressing, go to the emergency room or call an ambulance.

Reviews

Budaeva Irina Garmaevna

September 20, 2021

I would like to express my gratitude to dentist Gild Irina Aleksandrovna. This is the first time we have been seeing our child with this doctor. I am the mother of a special child (autism). On the advice of parents of children with similar diagnoses, they contacted the Veronica clinic for dental treatment under medicinal sleep conditions, since with our diagnosis treatment under local anesthesia is not possible. I received detailed advice, and from the first minutes trust and mutual understanding were achieved. The treatment was successful! Special thanks to the anesthesiologist-resuscitator Mikhail Yuryevich Kosobryukhov - a true professional in his field. After the oral cavity sanitation, we were recommended to perform regular professional hygiene. Irina Aleksandrovna established such a trusting contact with our special child, becoming the first doctor who was able to perform prof. hygiene, previously the child was afraid to even sit in a chair, this caused panic. Now we regularly visit our doctor for preventive purposes. We thank Irina Alexandrovna for her sensitive, tolerant attitude towards her patients and high professionalism! We are incredibly glad that we found our doctor. With gratitude, mother Ayura Budaeva. read more…

Morsina Maria

September 18, 2021

Anastasia Mikhailovna is a wonderful doctor! She instantly endeared herself to the child (an extremely irrepressible boy of almost 3 years old). She carried out all the necessary manipulations very carefully, carefully and carefully. The child left the appointment happy and said that he would come again. We wholeheartedly recommend it! Thank you! read more…

Yalovenko Ekaterina Andreevna

September 12, 2021

Hello, I would like to express my gratitude to Evgeniy Olegovich Bandrovsky. A wonderful doctor, a professional in his field. I have been to many specialists, but I have never seen such a high level of work and attitude. I was very pleased and would happily recommend it to everyone I know. read more…

Filchakov Vladimir Borisovich

09 September 2021

Many thanks to Anastasia Alekseevna Lyozina and Mikhail Yuryevich Kosobryukhov, as well as to the entire medical team who treated my child’s teeth in a “dream”! Real masters and professionals in their field! THANK YOU! read more…

Pankratova Anna

04 September 2021

We had our teeth treated by Anastasia Mikhailovna Sharipova, we were very pleased, every time the child left the clinic he asked when we would come back to treat his teeth. Now we will observe) read more…

Ilyina Polina

September 03, 2021
I had crowns installed in March 2021 and since then I have been in a lot of pain, it was uncomfortable, it hurt. Only Vladislav Yurievich was able to solve my problem and gave me back the ability to eat and sleep. Thank you for your responsiveness and willingness to always help! For a comfortable atmosphere during the reception and treatment! PS: And thanks to your assistant! read more…