What is the healing process of mouth wounds?

Question

When we have an external wound, blood generally tends to clot there, forming a layer of solid scab.Yesterday, while brushing my teeth, I somehow hurt my gums and it got all bloody. However, it did not clot, neither did it hurt just after the incident. After maybe like 12 or 15 hrs I had trouble opening my lips and when I looked at the spot in the mirror the gum tissue around and on the wound had colored white/yellowish.Our mouths are supposed to be the among the most contaminated parts of the human body, so why do mouth wounds heal in just about a week and don't get infected?What is the healing mechanism found in the mouth tissue, because I figure it is completely different from the processes in wounds occurring in the external skin.

Answer 1

Similar to other wounds found on the mucosal membrane, wounds on the mouth will heal from a bottom-up approach.

To illustrate, let's revisit the anatomy and histology for a second. You have a basal membrane where the cells are actively dividing and are relatively pre-mature. Between this layer and the top layer, the epithelial mucosal layer, are multiple other layers differentiated by their maturation stages. The blood may clot on top, but this will be sloughed off as soon as the top layer begins to be replaced with mature epithelial cells.

As far as the infection is concerned, the body has its own defense mechanisms. The saliva contains mucus-which traps the pathogens, white blood cells of various types playing different defense rolls, and most importantly IgA and lysozymes which act to label and breakdown any and all incoming pathogens. From there, the body also has inflammatory responses which help to attract more WBC's to the area if an invader is recognized.