The tongue generally heals in 1–2 weeks, during which time the person may have difficulty with speech or their normal dietary habits. Splitting may be reversed surgically by removal of sutures, excision of healed tissue on edges, and re-suturing the tongue together.
So more good news for you: It's totally reversible. In fact, if the exposed flesh isn't closed properly after the split (either with sutures or cauterization), your tongue will just go ahead and remerge on its own [source: Loftus].
Most mouth and tongue cuts heal on their own without stitches. Use saltwater rinses and cold compresses to relieve mouth pain and swelling and to reduce the chance of infection.
You should eat only very soft foods that require little or no chewing (such as yogurt, milkshakes, soup, etc.) for the first 48 hours or so. As your swelling and discomfort abate, you may introduce other foods. After several days, your pain will be minimal, and after 1-2 weeks it will be resolved.
Splitting the tongue may lead immediately to various complications, including excessive blood loss and swelling of the tongue, which can in turn cause difficulty with breathing and, at least theoretically, suffocation.
Australia. In 2009, the Australian state of Victoria enacted a ban on splitting the tongues of minors.
Having a split tongue won't affect your speech but there will be a slight distortion of certain sounds that some people might notice. However, it is worth noting that people usually present speech problems during the healing phase.
Your mouth has a more regular blood flow.
Blood contains cells that are necessary for healing. In addition to a simpler structure, the easy access to blood supply makes it easier to heal your mouth. Mucous tissue is highly vascular, meaning it's very rich in blood vessels.
A white tongue is usually caused by a white coating over the tongue. The coating can be due to a buildup of dead cells on the surface of the tongue, food residue, or an overgrowth of bacteria. It can also be from dried and caked saliva, damaged tongue tissues, or a combination of all of these things.
Bites of the tongue rarely need sutures. Even if they gape open a little, tongue cuts usually heal quickly. If the edges come together when the tongue is still, it needs no treatment. For tongue bleeding, try to press on the bleeding site with a sterile gauze.
A cut or tear to the tongue can bleed a lot. Small injuries may often heal on their own. If the injury is long or deep, it may need stitches that dissolve over time.
If there are no complications, complete healing usually takes around 4–6 weeks. If there is still swelling after a month, or if the piercing becomes painful or swollen after a period of seeming fine, this may signal an infection or other problem.
What Part of the Body Heals the Slowest? Ligaments, nerves and wounds in areas with more movement heal the slowest. Injuries to these areas have a longer recovery time because of poor blood circulation and constant motion stress.
Oral mucosa heals faster than skin, suggesting that saliva may have properties that aid wound healing. Saliva contains cell-derived tissue factor, and many compounds that are antibacterial or promote healing.
The first documented procedure was performed in Italy around 1994, but it wasn't until two body modification luminaries -- Dustin Allor and Erik Sprague (aka "The Lizardman") -- had the procedure done a few years later that tongue splitting began to attract attention.
A regular tongue is relatively flat across its length, while a fissured tongue has a deep, prominent groove in the middle. You may also find small furrows or cracks across the surface, making your tongue look wrinkled. The same way wrinkles deepen as we age, fissured tongues can also deepen at an older age.
A cracked tongue:
Grooves, cracks, or fissures along the surface of the tongue surface may be due to an iron, biotin, or vitamin B12 deficiency, as these nutrients are required to mature the tongue's papillae.
Dehydration may cause your tongue to become rough and dry. A dry tongue may be more prone to cracks and irritation. Dehydration can also weaken your immune system, increasing the risk of tongue fissures and making it harder to heal from them.
Because a fissured tongue can cluster in families, it may be genetically inherited. Although other causes of fissured tongue are unknown, it may appear along with other conditions such as these: Geographic tongue, also known as benign migratory glossitis (BMG).
What About the Cloverleaf Tongue? If you can twist your tongue into a cloverleaf, you are gifted. It is one of the rarest tricks. According to a study published in the journal Dysphagia, 83.7% of the population could roll their tongue.
Both segments of a bifurcated tongue are able to move independently, meaning that people with a split tongue have more manual dexterity -- which is said to be quite the benefit when it comes to kissing [source: Siegel].
In Victoria it is illegal for any person to perform scarification, tongue splitting, branding or beading on any person under the age of 18 years.
Total cost of tongue splitting will vary greatly and ranges from $1500-$3000 for the procedure.
Wounds in the oral cavity heal faster and with less scarring than wounds in other parts of the body. One of the factors implicated in this phenomenon is the presence of saliva, which promotes the healing of oral wounds in several ways.