Cut or Bitten Tongue or Cheek Emergency

4 Types of Mouth Injuries

There are four types of mouth injuries that may involve cutting or biting into the tongue, check, or lip: 

Tongue injury

 I bit my tongue. How many times have you said that in your life? It hurts! 

But have you ever had to go to the dentist, doctor, or ER because of it? 

The mouth does heal quickly, that is true, so the chances of needing any stitches is low. 

Want to know for sure? When your cut comes together when you are not moving your tongue; no medical treatment is needed and your cut will heal on its own.  

Upper lip injury

Falling is the number one reason an upper lip cut occurs.

This type of cut in the mouth will heal on its own, however after such an injury, it is always important to assess the gums and teeth, where the impact was received when the injury occurred. 

An upper lip cut can be something you want to look at, or your child will want to show it to others, this is not advised, as it can cause bleeding and prolong the healing timeline.  

Lower Lip

Cuts or bites on the lower lip are caused by  a person’s bottom teeth during a fall in most cases, and although they are painful, as long as the cut does not go through the lip completely, it will be able to heal without stitches in most instances. 

Puncture wounds

Can you remember a time you put a pen in your mouth trying to think what should be on your grocery shopping list? 

Brushing your teeth is a great way to promote healthy oral health for both your gums, teeth and mouth.

However, if you happen to fall doing either of these everyday tasks and fall, you may end up experiencing a puncture wound on your mouth in the: 

• Throat 
• Tonsil 
• Soft palate 

So what should you do for any of these four types of mouth injuries that involve a cut or bite in the cheek, lip, or tongue? 

Let’s find out . . . 

First Aid: Cut or Bitten: Tongue Lip or Cheek 

If an adult or child has experienced one of the mouth injuries above, what should you do?  

There are three main steps: 

1. Check for bleeding: If the injury is bleeding, you need a clean cloth, piece of gauze to apply gentle pressure that is also firm in consistency. The goal here is to help stop bleeding. 
2. Apply a cold compress: Using ice or a bag of frozen peas, do a 20 minute on do min off cycle on the injured area. The goal here is to help reduce and prevent swelling. Do not leave the ice or cold compress on continuously. 
3. To the ER in 15: Wondering if you need to go to the Emergency room for your bitten or cut lip, cheek or tongue? The rule of thumb is if the bleeding has not stopped in 15 minutes after the injury has occurred, go to the emergency room. 

After these three steps have been followed, and the person’s injury has received first aid to the point that they are out of immediate danger, it is highly recommended that you call and make an emergency dental appointment. 

An emergency dental visit after a bitten or cut lip, tongue, or cheek, helps to  assess if there was any damage to your gums or teeth, and if any dental treatment is needed.