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What Causes Biting Of Tongue Unintentionally?

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Posted on Mon, 13 Oct 2014
Question: I am biting my tongue unintentionally for about the past 2 weeks and do not know how to stop it. I do this mostly when I'm talking.
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Answered by Dr. Dariush Saghafi (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Unintentional tongue biting

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

My name is Dr. Saghafi and I'm sorry that this has been a problem for you the past couple of weeks. I've have this sort of thing happen to me as well and it's not pleasant...but not necessarily for this long so let's see what we can figure out here to stop this unpleasant action on your part.

I suspect that what has happened is that you have unintentionally bitten your tongue at the outset (as frequently happens to nearly everybody at one time or another in their lives) but then, the tongue probably became swollen and became more of a target to get bitten again. This is generally what happens to us. Then, as the tongue keeps getting bitten the swelling and inflammation continues or gets worse which makes it even a BIGGER target for the 3rd time and this process continues.

So long as you are not losing consciousness, or having an altered sense of time or space or losing orientation then, we can be sure these are part of any epileptic syndrome. However, you need to really take careful note now of the fact, that you must baby the tongue for the next few days so that the swelling goes down a bit making it less likely to bite it.

My recommendation is that you see a dentist or periorthodontist to check the closure of your mouth, gums, lips, and teeth to see where the misalignment may be that started this whole process. I am convinced that this is the most likely thing that's going on to have caused the initial problem.

The overlap of your top and bottom jaws is likely incorrect or not optimum and that's likely what started this whole thing. You may have worn or missing top or bottom teeth such that the closure between top and bottom is mechanically altered or compromised. Unfortunately, the tongue bears the brunt of this problem and there's not much one can do.

Thinking in terms of something completely different I would also take this opportunity to check thyroid hormones since on rare occasions it is published that hypothyroidism can be related to or the cause of biting the lips or tongue. I would do a FULL THYROID PROFILE and not just TSH.

If you feel I've provided you with useful information on your tongue biting phenomenon then, please provide some written feedback as well as a STAR RATING of this response). Also, if you've no further questions or comments on this response I'd greatly appreciate your CLOSING THE QUERY on your end which will allow the system to process and archive the thread for proper crediting to the account as well as future use.

Please feel free to address further questions to me by using the DIRECT QUERY function on this site and the following URL:

http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-dariush-saghafi/68474

This consult required 39 min. of physician specific review, research, and final draft documentation for envoy.


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Answered by
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Dr. Dariush Saghafi

Neurologist

Practicing since :1988

Answered : 2472 Questions

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What Causes Biting Of Tongue Unintentionally?

Brief Answer: Unintentional tongue biting Detailed Answer: Hi, My name is Dr. Saghafi and I'm sorry that this has been a problem for you the past couple of weeks. I've have this sort of thing happen to me as well and it's not pleasant...but not necessarily for this long so let's see what we can figure out here to stop this unpleasant action on your part. I suspect that what has happened is that you have unintentionally bitten your tongue at the outset (as frequently happens to nearly everybody at one time or another in their lives) but then, the tongue probably became swollen and became more of a target to get bitten again. This is generally what happens to us. Then, as the tongue keeps getting bitten the swelling and inflammation continues or gets worse which makes it even a BIGGER target for the 3rd time and this process continues. So long as you are not losing consciousness, or having an altered sense of time or space or losing orientation then, we can be sure these are part of any epileptic syndrome. However, you need to really take careful note now of the fact, that you must baby the tongue for the next few days so that the swelling goes down a bit making it less likely to bite it. My recommendation is that you see a dentist or periorthodontist to check the closure of your mouth, gums, lips, and teeth to see where the misalignment may be that started this whole process. I am convinced that this is the most likely thing that's going on to have caused the initial problem. The overlap of your top and bottom jaws is likely incorrect or not optimum and that's likely what started this whole thing. You may have worn or missing top or bottom teeth such that the closure between top and bottom is mechanically altered or compromised. Unfortunately, the tongue bears the brunt of this problem and there's not much one can do. Thinking in terms of something completely different I would also take this opportunity to check thyroid hormones since on rare occasions it is published that hypothyroidism can be related to or the cause of biting the lips or tongue. I would do a FULL THYROID PROFILE and not just TSH. If you feel I've provided you with useful information on your tongue biting phenomenon then, please provide some written feedback as well as a STAR RATING of this response). Also, if you've no further questions or comments on this response I'd greatly appreciate your CLOSING THE QUERY on your end which will allow the system to process and archive the thread for proper crediting to the account as well as future use. Please feel free to address further questions to me by using the DIRECT QUERY function on this site and the following URL: http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-dariush-saghafi/68474 This consult required 39 min. of physician specific review, research, and final draft documentation for envoy.