My son bit through his lip

[bignerpie]

Earlier today, my son tripped, hit his mouth on the coffee table, and completely bit through his lip. He required two stitches on the outside, and the inside is a big, gaping hole. I am nervous about it getting infected because I'm having a hard time keeping his dirty fingers out of his mouth!

He is 16 months old and breastfeeding. Should I express some milk and drop it on the inside hole? The doctor recommended putting Neosporin on the outside of his lip, which I haven't done, but didn't say anything about what to do with the inside.

What can I do to keep it clean and/or help it heal faster?

[rhiOrion]

I would think he'd get milk in it just through breastfeeding. Is he eating okay even though he's sore?

mouths heal fast!

I did the exact same thing when I was 2... hit the coffee table and bit through. I have a tiny little scar now that I would have to point out in good light for it to be visible.

[ledzepplon]

You might just rinse it out with some warm, mild saline a few times a day. You could use a clean nasal aspirator or syringe to flush out any food debris, etc. My ds bit completely through his tongue and this was the advice given to us at urgent care.

They don't generally stitch the inside of the mouth because it heals very quickly and is unlikely to get infected. Of course I don't understand how that works, since the mouth is such a germy place, but it was true for us--no infection!

Hope your little one feels all better very quickly!

[Lillitu]

aw, poor lil guy!

I am sure it will heal quickly.

[liqzierda]

My DS did exactly the same thing when he was 3 1/2. He ended up on antibiotics the next day because he had a really bad ear infection, too. He was nursing still and it healed really well. They gave us neosporin, too, but we never used it.

Think of when people have surgery and get their wisdom teeth out -- they don't use topical antibiotics. I think saline is considered to be pretty good.

My son was missing a piece of his lip the size of the end of my pinkie. There was a huge gaping hole in his face and it's incredible, you'd never know now. He has a scar but it's not anything anyone who isn't a dentist would even notice.