Bitten or Chewed Lips After Dental Treatment

Some dental treatments will require your child to be anesthetized (numbed). As the anesthetic wears off, your child will experience a tingling sensation in the mouth, tongue and/or cheek areas. It is important to monitor your child for the next 2-3 hours after treatment to ensure that he or she does not bite or scratch at these numbed areas. You should also avoid giving your child solid food until the numbness has worn off. Instead, opt for soft snacks such as Jell-o, frozen yogurt, milkshakes and/or smoothies. We suggest spooning these instead use of a straw.

If your child bites his or her cheek, tongue or lip, there may be swelling over the next 4-5 days. This is most common in a child under the age of 8. A soft scab may develop that looks like a yellowish white plaque or like a large traumatic ulcer. This is a normal part of the healing process. The lesion should heal over the next 10-14 days.

What you can do:

Keep the area clean, being sure to brush teeth as usual, just being as gentle as possible around affected area.

You may give your child children’s acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Motrin®) if he or she is in pain.

Avoid acidic food and drinks such as tomato based foods and sauces and citric juices. These might burn the open wound.