The 20-month-old toddler, M.E., born to a family from Mardin, had repeatedly bitten his tongue and fingertips since he grew teeth, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday. His family noted that he was causing severe damage to the tip of his tongue and his fingertips and took him to a neurologist. When the neurologist diagnosed the child with congenital insensitivity to pain, the family took him to the faculty of dentistry at Dicle University in Diyarbakır.Dr. Behiye Bolgül, who along with her colleagues in the pedodontology department treated the child, said the toddler suffers from a rare neurological disease with symptoms including fever and insensitivity to pain. Bolgül said they covered his teeth with a smooth material that will stay in his mouth until he is old enough to understand that he should not bite his tongue.
Noting that the toddler's fingers are healing but the damage to his tongue is permanent and may affect his speaking, Bolgül said: “A family from Mardin brought their 20-month-old child to us with complaints that he was biting his tongue and fingers. His illness is usually detected when a baby does not react while receiving an injection. When he came to us, he had already torn apart the tip of his tongue and damaged his fingers.”
