Keep the tongue in place
Dani Burns
I sometimes have conversations that lead to me over-thinking a statement or a subject (unfortunate for you) which turns into a topic for this column. This happened to me yesterday.
A friend of mine mentioned to me that she had a cold sore in her mouth — common enough, I know. It was “driving her crazy”. Then she added that it wasn’t so much that it hurt, it was more a bother that she couldn’t keep her tongue away from it.
Ah ha! There you have it. The statement that keeps spinning around in my head is, “She couldn’t keep her tongue away from it.” That one simple statement has been distracting me for hours, so there is only one thing to do about it: Write about it, of course.
So what did she mean “she can’t keep her tongue away from it?” You do control your own tongue don’t you?
I have to say that it certainly does seem to me that our tongues have a mind of their own. Please understand, I do see that idea as being ridiculous. The tongue is a muscle, and it does not have the power of independent thinking. But, you have to admit, unless we specifically concentrate on the immediate actions of our tongues, they do tend to wander and behave or misbehave on their own.
Tongues are creatures of habit. They prefer their environment to remain unchanged. When a change occurs the tongue cannot rest. The tongue acts like a sentry of sorts. Constantly patrolling the mouth, making sure there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place.
Not long ago I lost a filling. This wasn’t a big deal. I wasn’t in any pain so I made an appointment with my dentist, but a hurry wasn’t necessary.
Unfortunately, my tongue wasn’t as undisturbed by this change as I was. My tongue couldn’t rest. It was wrought with worry, so to speak. What was once a smooth comfortable surface, had changed to what I would imagine to be a small hole with a rough edge.
Like my friend had put it, “I couldn’t keep my tongue away from it.” Now that I look back on the situation, I realize what turmoil I must have put my poor tongue through. By continually going back to that location, rooting and rubbing that spot, my tongue was telling me “something is amiss, something is wrong, fix it and fix it now.”
Maybe that is the purpose of the tongue having a mind of its own — to worry and work at a spot within our mouths, that doesn’t belong there, or that isn’t quite right, until we make it right. It’s probably a good thing if you think about it. We wouldn’t get that sesame seed that’s stuck between our teeth out if our tongue didn’t drive us crazy about it. Or maybe I wouldn’t have gotten that cavity re-filled as quickly if it didn’t bother my tongue so much.
After a meal our tongues are constantly working and wiggling to remove excess food from our teeth as well. Most of us don’t even realize it. Just another way our tongue is taking care of its home.
I even remember a time when one of my daughter’s adult teeth was growing in, and I thought that it was coming in to an incorrect location in her mouth. I asked a dentist friend of mine if I should do something about it, and he told me not to worry because the tongue would take care of it. He said the tongue would work it and work it until it moved into place, and sure enough, in only a couple of weeks that new tooth was right where it belonged.
It seems to me that the sole purpose of our tongues and their “thoughts” are to be guardian to our mouths and to remind us to take care of them.
Well, I think I have sufficiently over-thought the subject of my tongue having a mind of its own now. What do you think?
Dani Burns is a Wisconsin Dells resident and postmistress at Endeavor. Contact her in care of the Events, wde-editorial@capitalnewspapers.com.