Background
Tongue piercing is one of the most common sites in the western world in addition to ear piercing. As with many piercing innovations the introduction of this can be traced to Gauntlet, the first professional body piercing studio in the United States located in Los Angeles. It became very popular in the 1980’s.
Piercing On the Rise
However, in recent years the popularity of body piercing has grown significantly. Inserting metal objects in and around the mouth (oral piercing) has become common practice. The perforations are usually made in the tongue or lips. The tongue is the most frequent location. A tongue bar is commonly inserted through or behind the lingual frenum (the thin strip of tissue that runs vertically from the floor of the mouth to the undersurface of the tongue).
7 Dangers Associated with Oral Piercing
Even as the popularity of oral piercing has grown, so have the complications. The most common problem associated with tongue piercing is pain, swelling and infection. But this is just the beginning. Other problems include:
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Interference with speech, chewing and swallowing
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Damage throughout the mouth such as broken teeth, gum recession and tooth pulp death
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Hemorrhage (blood loss) due to penetrating blood vessels in the tongue and elsewhere during placement
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Blockage of the airway due to inhaling the device
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Hypersensitivity to the metal and galvanic current (producing the sensation of touching a battery to your tongue)
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Edema
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Ludwig’s angina
These and other problems have sent many unsuspecting body piercing customers to the emergency room!
4 Preventative Actions to Avoid Oral Piercing Damage
Oral piercings tend to heal in about 2-4 weeks. The important thing is, “Keep it clean!”
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Make a special effort to keep a new tongue piercing extremely clean during the crucial initial 2-4 weeks while it is healing.
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Throughout the life of your piercing, brush your teeth after every meal and beverage consumed.
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Brush your tongue twice per day.
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Remove the tongue bar daily and brush it clean to remove biofilm (bacteria) that will accumulate and can cause infection.
Finally, if your oral piercing has not been professionally evaluated in the past six months, make a visit to Smile Sensations for an oral piercing check-up.
