Can Your Tongue Grow Back?
By
Dr Shivam Jha
This blog post will answer the question, ”Can your tongue grow back?” and cover topics like how fast can your tongue grow back, bite tongue, its causes, diagnosis and treatment, everything you need to know about tongue and what your tongue says about your health.
Can Your Tongue Grow Back?
No, your tongue cannot grow back as human body organs do not possess the capabilities to regenerate on its own.
However, if lacerated or small injuries are present, then your tongue can repair itself pretty quickly.
If the tongue is cut off partially or completely, due to any injury or cancer, it is not possible for it to regenerate and can only be replaced by a reconstructive surgery.
How Quickly Your Tongue Grows Back?
Your tongue cannot grow back as human body organs do not possess the capabilities to regenerate on its own.
However, if lacerated or small injuries are present, then your tongue can repair itself pretty quickly, if proper and timely treatment is provided.
If the tongue is cut off partially or completely, due to any injury or cancer, it is not possible for it to regenerate and can only be replaced by a reconstructive surgery or a flap surgery by an experienced surgeon.
Healing time or time your tongue takes to repair itself may vary depending on the severity of the injury. Tongue repairs itself within a few days or weeks when the injury or laceration is mild to moderate.
Tongue repair may take longer if the injury involves any kind of surgery.
Biting Off Your Tongue: Everything You Need To Know
Biting the tongue is very painful and leads to bleeding that needs quick attention.
Biting tongue may occur accidentally while eating, playing, fighting, during seizures and nail-biting or may be intentionally done in a few cases.
It is more common to see cases of tongue biting in children than adults who are less active and more cautious.
Management Guidelines For Bit Tongue
- Rinse mouth with water to clean the injured site
- Examine mouth to see if any other mouth part or teeth is affected
- To avoid tongue swelling, use ice wrapped cloth over the injured part
- Avoid using ice directly over the tongue
- Consider applying pressure with a mouth gauze to stop bleeding from the injured part of the tongue.
- Consult doctor if bleeding continues even after 15 minutes
- To keep area infection free, rinse after every meal, with a salt solution
- Avoid consuming citrus fruits, spicy or salty foods, tobacco and alcohol as they may irritate your tongue and aggravate the pain
- Eat soft and cold foods like yoghurt, ice creams and custards
Pain from bit tongue is temporary as the tongue usually heals itself quickly, due to the rich nerve supply it has.
It becomes crucial to seek medical help when the bleeding continues even after 15 minutes of applying pressure and the cause of injury is severe.
Regeneration of tongue after being bit off is not possible but the cut part can be re-attached under expert supervision and the healing is positive.
What To Do When Biting Tongue Occurs Frequently?
Biting tongue, if occurs accidentally, once or twice, produces temporary discomfort that self heals quickly.
However, if it occurs again and again then there must be an underlying cause that needs medical attention.
Know Everything About Your Tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ situated in the floor of the mouth, associated with functions of taste, speech, chewing and swallowing.
TONGUE PAPILLAE
Papillae are projections of the tongue’s mucous membrane, found in the anterior two-third of the tongue, giving tongue its characteristic roughness.
Human tongue has mainly three types of papillae, namely, circumvallate papillae at the anterior two-third in front of sulcus terminalis; fungiform papillae at the tip and margins of the tongue and filiform papillae at the middle portion of the tongue in the presulcal area.
TASTE BUDS
Taste Buds are located mostly on the sides of circumvallate papillae, over the posterior one-third of the tongue and sparsely on the tips and margins of the tongue.
Sweet, sour, bitter and salty are four major tastes sensed by our tongue.
SWALLOWING YOUR OWN TONGUE IS NOT POSSIBLE
The root of the tongue is attached to the styloid process and soft palate above, and to the mandible and the hyoid bone below. These attachments prevent you from swallowing your own tongue.
TONGUE MUSCLES
Tongue is highly muscular containing intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. Here is a summary of the action of muscles:
| INTRINSIC MUSCLES | ACTIONS |
| Superior longitudinal | Shortens the tongue and makes its dorsum concave |
| Inferior longitudinal | Shortens the tongue and makes its dorsum convex |
| Transverse | Makes the tongue narrow and elongated |
| Vertical | Makes the tongue broad and flat |
| EXTRINSIC MUSCLES | ACTIONS |
| Genioglossus | Tongue protrusion |
| Hyoglossus | Tongue depression |
| Styloglossus | Retracts tongue |
| Palatoglossus | Elevates tongue |
Tongue: What It Indicates About Your Health?
White Spots
- Oral Thrush – Appear as creamy white spot
- Lichen Planus – White patches with redness and swelling
- Leukoplakia – White patches that cannot be scraped away
Hairy Tongue
- Dark hair-like structures on the surface of the tongue
- Harmless condition that occurs due to deposition of dead skin cells over the papillae
- May be associated with HIV or Epstein-Barr Virus
Black Tongue
- May be due to hairy tongue or due to any medication
- Harmless condition that may disappear on discontinuation of medicine
Bright Red Tongue
A bright red tongue, having a strawberry appearance , may be indicative of:
- Kawasaki Disease
- Scarlet Fever
- Deficiency of Vitamin B3
Burning Feeling
You may burn your tongue while sipping in hot coffee or tea, that may produce a burning feeling.
However, if you develop burning feeling in your tongue and mouth, without any reason, it may be indicative of:
- Burning Mouth Syndrome
- Diabetes
- Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)
- Infection
Macroglossia
Macroglossia as the name suggests refers to abnormal enlargement of the tongue. It may be due to some underlying infection or disorder or may be congenital.
The size reduces on treating the underlying cause and if congenital may require surgery. Tongue size reduction surgery helps to reduce the size of the tongue back to normal, restoring all its normal functions.
Microglossia
Microglossia as the name suggests is an extremely rare congenital condition in which the tongue size reduces abnormally. This may cause hindrance with the patient’s normal breathing, eating and speech.
Fissured Tongue
Fissured tongue, also called scrotal tongue, is a condition that affects the tongue’s top surface leading to its wrinkled appearance.
Fissured tongue is a benign condition that causes deep grooves in the middle of the tongue and thus gives the tongue a wrinkled appearance.
Bacterial accumulation in the grooves may lead to infections. Therefore, it is recommended to brush your teeth twice and follow good oral hygiene.
Treatments Available For Some Common Tongue Disorders
- Steroid gel and Silver Nitrate to provide relief from the symptoms of canker sores
- Lidocaine Gel for temporary pain relief
- Antifungal medicines to eliminate Candida albicans, the thrush-causing fungus
- Tongue scraping to remove the hairy tongue and prevent infections.
- Vitamin B supplement to provide relief from red, painful tongue.
- Tongue surgery for treating cancer or oral leukoplakia.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question, “can your tongue grow back?” We understood how fast your tongue can grow back, what tongue bite is, its causes, diagnosis, treatment and healing time. The article outlined all the facts you needed to know about your tongue and what your tongue says about your health.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Can Your Tongue Grow Back?
Does your tongue grow back after surgery?
No, tongue does not grow back after surgery as no regeneration properties are inherited in human organs.
According to a research study, even papilla does not regenerate.
A study reported that loss of tongue tip or lateral parts of the tongue in children does not produce permanent loss and tongue hypertrophy is established within 6 months.
Can you reattach a tongue?
Yes, a tongue can be reattached under expert supervision of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, if brought to care within 8 hours of injury.
Delay of 24 hours or more, reduces the success rate of reattachment surgery and may make it difficult to achieve positive results.
Doctors have gained success in the past in reattaching partially cut off tongue with the help of sutures, as reported in studies.
How long does it take for your tongue to grow back?
Your tongue cannot grow back as human body organs do not possess the capabilities to regenerate on its own.
However, if lacerated or small injuries are present, then your tongue can repair itself pretty quickly, if proper and timely treatment is provided.
The time your tongue takes to repair itself may vary depending on the severity of the injury. Tongue repairs itself within a few days or weeks when the injury or laceration is mild to moderate.
Tongue repair may take longer if the injury involves any kind of surgery.
Can a person live without a tongue?
Yes, it is possible to live without a tongue. According to a research, you may not need a tongue to taste or speak. Many people lose their tongue partially or completely due to cancer or other surgery and still survive.
Isolated Congenital Aglossia (ICA) is a congenital condition in which the patient is born without a tongue and is asymptomatic otherwise.
Does your tongue heal fast?
The time your tongue takes to heal itself may vary depending on the severity of the injury. Tongue repairs itself within a few days or weeks when the injury or laceration is mild to moderate.
Tongue repair may take longer if the injury involves any kind of surgery.
Other FAQs about Tongue Health that you may be interested in.
Can Your Tongue Get Sunburned?
Why do I keep biting my tongue in my sleep?
References:
Sader, F, Denis, J-F, Roy, S. Tissue regeneration in dentistry: Can salamanders provide insight? Oral Dis. 2018; 24: 509– 517. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.12674
Dr. Amber MacDonald, Dr. Andrew Gross, Dr. Brady Jones, and Dr. Madhu Dhar.Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews.ahead of printhttp://doi.org/10.1089/ten.TEB.2021.0133
How Fast Does Your Tongue Grow Back? (2020)
Bit tongue: What to know. (2020)
I Bit My Tongue. What Now? Colgate
Picture of the Tongue. WebMD. (2021)
What Your Tongue Says About Your Health. WebMD. (2019)
Ferrell F, Tsuetaki T. Regeneration of taste buds after surgical excision of human vallate papilla. Exp Neurol. 1984;83(2):429-435. doi:10.1016/S0014-4886(84)90111-0
Hernández-Méndez, José Roberto et al. “Traumatic partial amputation of the tongue. Case report and literature review.” Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) vol. 5 110-3. 29 Dec. 2015, doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2015.12.049
Why your tongue isn’t as necessary as you might have thought. (2014)