Intra-Oral Lacerations
Intra-oral lacerations form a small percentage of lacerations. However, in comparison to skin laceration repair, the repair of intra-oral lacerations has some significant differences.
The cause of intra oral lacerations is typically the impact of the teeth on oral mucosa because of accidents, car crashes, contact sports, personal violence, and industrial accidents.
In general, lacerations that do not open up usually heal properly without medical intervention. However, lacerations that are gaping require wound closure to minimize the chances of infection and complications due to bleeding.
BC Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery provides treatments for intra oral lacerations to patients in Mauritius. After ensuring that the patient does not have any serious airway damage, our Oral Surgeon will evaluate the extent of oral injuries.
Intra-Oral Lacerations causes
Injuries to the face and mouth can occur for a myriad of different reasons. When an injury occurs specifically inside the mouth, it is considered an intra-oral laceration. This is a specific subset of a soft tissue injury that can occur to the face and mouth region.
Common causes of these injuries include lacerations caused by
- playing sports
- injuries due to automobile accidents
- accidents that occur at work
- injuries that can occur in personal relationships
- injuries when a person falls and hits their head and face.
Intra-Oral Lacerations Treatments
There are many different types of intra-oral lacerations that can occur, and our approach to treatment will depend largely on some factors, including the specific site of the injury and the depth and size of the laceration.
For a patient with an injury to the oral mucosa (the smooth, pink skin inside the mouth) or the gingival tissue (the gums), we will start by assessing the mouth to ensure there are no bone fragments lodged into the tissue. If there are bone fragments, we will remove them to prevent problems like infection.
If the laceration is large in size (bigger than two centimeters), we will apply sutures to the site to help encourage it to heal.
A laceration to the tongue requires careful treatment. Smaller lacerations should typically heal without requiring sutures, but when a tongue becomes injured, there is a danger of it losing function. We need to ensure that we can preserve the tongue without causing nerve damage. If the tongue has a laceration larger than one and a half centimeters, the injury has cut deep to the muscle, or the tongue is split, we will need to suture the site to ensure the best outcome for the patient.
When should you visit an Oral Surgeon?
It is vital that you treat an injury with a laceration to the mouth like an emergency. Depending on the location or the severity of the injury, lasting complications can arise if they are not addressed or treated immediately. Because there are many nerve structures and important glands and organs in the mouth, these lacerations need to be professionally treated to prevent dysfunction of these glands or permanent damage to the area.
Schedule an Intra-Oral Examination
At BC Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, our Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon can perform an oral examination and x-rays of the mouth, to to determine the extent of your injuries, and allow us to formulate a treatment plan that will provide you with the best possible outcome
Schedule a Facial Trauma Examination with our Oral Surgeon >
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