Pizza Burn

Pizza Burn

Bite into a slice of steaming hot pizza and ... yow! That nasty burn you get on the roof of your mouth could make you consider take-out Chinese next time.

It's an agonizing encounter: Searing hot cheese meets the tender parts of your upper palate. What you can expect are a blistering lesion, moderate pain that lasts for about a week and sometimes a loosened piece of flesh that hangs down from the roof of your mouth. The symptoms are so typical that this condition has made it into the pages of authoritative medical journals as--what else?--"pizza burn."

But actually, pizza is only one of the hot foods that can burn. The tissue on the roof of your mouth is only millimeters thick. Just about any food or drink that retains heat well--any melted cheese dish, many soups and sauces, beverages like tea and hot chocolate, even hot hot fudge topping--can damage that tissue and cause swelling. Until recently, these other culprits have been bit players in this oral drama. Pizza was the main villain. But now, in the age of the microwave, any hot food can produce a sneak attack.

So here's what to do if you singe your mouth.

Ice it. "Put an ice cube in your mouth immediately to neutralize some of the tissue reaction," suggests Fred Magaziner, D.D.S., a spokesdentist for the Academy of General Dentistry and host of "Open Wide--A Look at Dentistry," a Baltimore TV talk show about dental care. "Besides lessening some of the pain, it will reduce the chance of any additional swelling and irritation. That's why it's also a good idea to never bite into pizza without a cold drink handy."

Gargle with salt water. I recommend frequent saltwater rinses--every hour or so if you can manage," says Bernard Dishler, D.D.S., a dentist in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. "Make your own rinse of 1/2 teaspoon of salt mixed with eight ounces of warm water to promote the healing process."

Avoid "sharp" foods. That means sharp in taste and in edges. "Spicy foods, particularly Italian, will increase the pain from an existing pizza burn and may trigger infection," says Allen R. Crawford, Jr., D.M.D., a dentist in Macungie, Pennsylvania. "You'll also want to avoid potato chips and other foods with sharp edges, which will aggravate the lesion."

Head for the drugstore. "A product called Orabase, which is available over the counter, is a pectin ointment that sticks to wet tissue to protect the lesion from the heat you eat--particulary spicy foods," says Dr. Magaziner. Apply Orabase directly on the bum to protect as well as heal.

Drink plenty of milk. "Milk provides a mild coating that protects the lesion slightly," adds Dr. Crawford.

Let microwaved foods "sit." Foods prepared in microwaves cook unevenly, so the outside and inside may be different temperatures, says Dr. Magaziner. "Most people get burned because they don't do what you're supposed to do with microwaved food."

And what should you do? "Let the food sit in the microwave for two minutes after the buzzer rings before you eat it," advises Dr. Magaziner.