Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat It Feels LikeTreatmentsOther Mouth SymptomsOther CausesFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What It Feels Like
Treatments
Other Mouth Symptoms
Other Causes
Frequently Asked Questions
While many people with MS experiencenumbness and tinglingat some point, you may or may not have heard of or experienced numbness and tingling of the mouth—a particularly unpleasant sensation.
Inmultiple sclerosis, mouth numbness, like other sensory disturbances, is associated with damage to myelin, the fatty sheath that insulates nerve fibers. It generally occurs from a lesion in thebrainstemand may affect the face as well.
Like other MS symptoms, a healthcare provider can diagnose new numbness using an MRI. One study suggests also using trigeminal somatosensory evoked potentials as a diagnostic tool.
Martin Novak / Getty Images
What Does Mouth Numbness Feel Like?
The symptoms of mouth numbness can vary somewhat:
Due to the numbness, some people may begin chewing and holding food on the unaffected (or less affected) side of the mouth. Others may lose their appetite due to the unpleasant experience of eating—it’s especially important to talk to your healthcare provider if this is the case. Dental care providers also need to be aware of issues affecting those with MS.
Can Tongue Numbness Be Treated?
There is no specific medication to treat mouth numbness. If it is severe though, your healthcare provider may prescribe you a steroid to ease your symptoms.The good news is that MS-related numbness is generally transient, so it should remit.
One thing to note is that you should be very careful about chewing when you are experiencing numbness in your mouth. Find food that is soft and that does not present a choking hazard if it is not fully chewed, especially if you havedifficulty swallowing(another symptom of MS).
In addition, chew slowly so you do not accidentally bite the inside of your mouth, which can be quite painful. You also want to be careful about drinking hot liquids, as they may inadvertently burn your tongue or the inside of your mouth.
Are There Other MS Mouth Symptoms?
Keep in mind that, besides numbness, MS can cause other mouth-relatedsymptoms.
Taste Deficits
Taste disturbances are common in MS, ranging in severity from subtle to more severe. In one study in theJournal of Neurology,investigatorsadministered a taste test to 73 people with MS and 73 matched controls.The test measured sweet (sucrose), sour (citric acid), bitter (caffeine), and salty (salt) taste perception on the top and bottom of the tongue.
Results revealed that the people with MS had significantly lower taste identification scores, compared to the controls (with the biggest deficit being that for salt).
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgiais an exquisitely painful condition of the face. In MS, it results from damage to the trigeminal nerve (a nerve in your face that transmits sensory signals to your brain and also helps control some of the muscles involved in chewing).
Episodes of trigeminal neuralgia are short-lived (usually lasting seconds) but severe and debilitating, causing stabbing, electric shock-like attacks of pain, commonly in the jaw, teeth, and gums. It can usually be treated with the anti-seizure medications Tegretol (carbamazepine) or Trileptal (oxcarbazepine).
What Else Can Cause Tongue Numbness?
B12 Deficiency and MS
A Word From Verywell
If you have MS and are experiencing isolated mouth numbness (or other mouth-related symptoms), you can at least include MS as one of the possible causes. Consider yourself lucky, too, if your neurologist has even heard of this as a symptom of MS, as it appears to be less commonly reported than other symptoms.
Moreover, a positive correlation was found between the degree of the taste deficit and the number and size ofMS lesionsin certain parts of the brain (like the frontal and temporal lobes).
Yes, multiple sclerosis can cause facial numbness. For many people, numbness or tingling are common symptoms of multiple sclerosis. If facial numbness makes eating, chewing, speaking, or other daily activities difficult to perform, it may be a good idea to reach out to a healthcare provider.
Paresthesia of the tongue is a sensation of tingling, numbness, or itching on the tongue, but paresthesia can affect any area of the body. Chronic paresthesia can be a symptom of multiple sclerosis and stroke. Most people only experience the feeling temporarily when pressure is placed on a nerve, such as falling asleep on an arm.
A deficiency in vitamin B12, infection, and Raynaud’s syndrome are also known to cause numbness and tingling. A healthcare provider can help you figure out what is causing the issue.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Zhang GQ, Meng Y.Oral and craniofacial manifestations of multiple sclerosis: Implications for the oral health care provider.Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015;19(23):4610-4620.
Koutsis G, Kokotis P, Papagianni AE, Evangelopoulos ME, Kilidireas C, Karandreas N.A neurophysiological study of facial numbness in multiple sclerosis: Integration with clinical data and imaging findings.Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2016 Sep;9:140-6. doi:10.1016/j.msard.2016.07.009
Elemek E, Almas K.Multiple sclerosis and oral health: An update.N Y State Dent J. 2013 Apr;79(3):16-21.
Doty RL, Tourbier IA, Pham DL, et al.Taste dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.J Neurol. 2016;263(4):677–688. doi:10.1007/s00415-016-8030-6
Cruccu G, Finnerup NB, Jensen TS, et al.Trigeminal neuralgia: New classification and diagnostic grading for practice and research.Neurology. 2016;87(2):220–228. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000002840
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Drug allergies.
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Food allergy.
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Pollen food allergy syndrome.
Mittal A, Mittal BB.Raynaud’s of the tongue following chemoradiation for squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx.Mol Clin Oncol. 2017;6(2):187-188. doi:10.3892/mco.2016.1103
Nagel MA, Gilden D.Burning mouth syndrome associated with varicella zoster virus.BMJ Case Rep. 2016;2016:bcr2016215953. doi:10.1136/bcr-2016-215953
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin B12.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Paresthesia.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
