Tongue Cut Healing: Symptoms, Treatment & Recovery Time

Question
Hi Margot,

This may sound like a weird question. But, while jogging, I accidentally bit my tongue. That was about 2 days ago. I bit it on the right side edge. It is still quite painful and hard to eat anything. When viewing it in the mirror, you can see the cut with the edge kind of sticking out. I gargle with Listerine and apply an oral analgesic ointment to it. Does it normally take a long time for a bite to the tongue to heal? Is there anything else I can do for it? Thanks.

Answer
Hi Dan and thanks for writing,

Yes tongues can take a while to heal as they tend to become quite swollen due to their texture, large venous supply and the fact we can hardly immobilize it once injured. The mouth is actually the dirtiest part of our body with more bacteria than any other part (which is why human bites are so dangerous) so your body is atively fighting the bacteria from entering your blood system. Don't panic though, our bodies are amazing and know how to deal with all the bacteria normlly found in the mouth (the bacteria are safe as lond as they remain in the mouth where saliva and other natural acids keep them under control).

I hope this helps and I wish you good health,

Margot