There’s nothing worse than sipping your hot coffee too early or biting into a slice of oven-baked pizza too hastily and burning your tongue. While we feel an immediate sensation of burn, the discomfort can seem to linger for hours or days. In fact, a scalded tongue can ruin your ability to enjoy your food for multiple meals going forward. Which begs the question – what can I do to help my burnt tongue heal faster?
Your tongue is a fleshy muscular organ that has many important roles, from tasting and licking to swallowing and speaking. Therefore, it’s not surprising that we notice right away when the tongue suffers damage. The tongue is also covered with mucosa and countless tiny bumps, called papillae. Your thousands of taste buds reside on the surfaces of the papillae. So if you’ve scalded this important organ enough, you may suffer from a lack of taste for certain flavors, depending on which taste buds were damaged.
Don’t worry; when you damage your taste buds or burn your tongue, the damage is not typically permanent. While severe scalding may warrant medical attention, most cases can heal on their own. If you’re like most people who have burned their tongue, however, the faster it can heal, the better – as it can be quite uncomfortable.
Fortunately, there are many natural remedies you can do at home to alleviate the discomfort of a tongue burn and help it to get back to normal quicker. If you are regretting that premature sip of hot soup, try the following:
- Cool your tongue with ice cubes
- Suck a piece of candy – sugar or glucose can aid in healing
- Rinse with salt water
- Apply honey or Aloe Vera
- Avoid hot, spicy, acidic or crunchy foods until it heals
At Gilreath Family Dentistry, we are keenly aware of all types of mishaps and damages that happen within your mouth, whether it is a chipped tooth or a burnt tongue. If you have suffered a mouth-related injury, don’t hesitate to call our Marietta office for help.
Posted on behalf of Dr. Paul Gilreath IV,
