# How does a tongue heal?



## ~Mom2thhts~ (May 18, 2006)

My 20 month old fell last week and bit his tongue pretty badly. He didnt bite it completely through, but it has a pretty big gash. We didnt take him to the doc because we have been told in other instances that they cant do anything with a tongue and it has to heal on its own. Its probably been a week or almost a week. Looking at his tongue today it is healing, but it looks like the gap is not healing closed. Im afraid he may have a little flap if its just left alone.

So what would y'all do? Does anyone think the doc can doing anything? Can they stitch a tongue?


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## mytwogirls (Jan 3, 2008)

The tongue heals very quickly and the saliva usually has enough enzymes in it to fight off infection. When my oldest was 19 months she had a nasty fall and had a gash in her tongue and within two weeks it was healing nicely. If your little one is not complaining of pain I would not worry too much. Cold drinks can help the swelling but really there is not much to do unless there is a piece actually hanging from the tongue. The gap will close eventually don't worry.


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

I bit the side of my tongue bad some time last week and it is still healing. My guess is that you couldn't see the depth of the wound because of the blood. Give it more time, it will heal.


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## LianneM (May 26, 2004)

I have a scar on my tongue from falling and biting it when I was about 2. My mom loves to tell the story














and says it healed quickly and fine on its own.


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

This happened to us last week. DD1 fell and bit her tongue, and now has this big hole with a flap over it, in her tongue. I took her to the ped yesterday, and was told that it will heal all by itself. It will be a slow process, though. He told me he expects the tissue to start filling in and healing in about two or three weeks, but that the flap likely won't be totally healed up for a month or even two. He advised me that if we don't start seeing SOME tissue filling in within about three weeks, that we might want to consider having it stitched. He said they mostly don't do anything for tongue lacerations unless the entire tongue is pierced, or unless the laceration causes the tongue to be "forked." Those mostly don't heal on their own.


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## ~Mom2thhts~ (May 18, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
This happened to us last week. DD1 fell and bit her tongue, and now has this big hole with a flap over it, in her tongue. I took her to the ped yesterday, and was told that it will heal all by itself. It will be a slow process, though. He told me he expects the tissue to start filling in and healing in about two or three weeks, but that the flap likely won't be totally healed up for a month or even two. He advised me that if we don't start seeing SOME tissue filling in within about three weeks, that we might want to consider having it stitched. He said they mostly don't do anything for tongue lacerations unless the entire tongue is pierced, or unless the laceration causes the tongue to be "forked." Those mostly don't heal on their own.

That sounds exactly like his tongue! Thanks, Llyra! What a relief. I'll just have to watch for the tissue to fill in the hole. By looking at it I can see that it has filled in a bit, but it didnt look like the flap was going away and I got concerned. It looks scary at the moment when he sticks out his tongue.







I cant imagine how terrible it would be for him to have it stitched.


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## ewe+lamb (Jul 20, 2004)

Our ds fell and put his teeth right through his tongue - I remember lifting his tongue off the teeth - aaaaaah - anyway, it took about three weeks to heal, - we didn't have a flap of skin though but considering the damage done wasn't too bad I thought. It's the filling in that took the time, he has a little scar but nothing terrible.


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