A.  Yes! Oral piercing can cause a number of problems including: pain, drooling, swelling, infection, taste loss, chipped teeth, and tooth loss.

 

 

A.  Piercing regulations vary from state to state.  Therefore it is crucial that you ask your piercing specialist a number of questions to avoid serious infection including HIV and Hepatitis.  Make sure that a fresh needle is used for your piercing.  Ask about after piercing care, side effects of the piercing, and cleaning instructions for you piercing.  Make sure that they sterilize all needles and instruments with an autoclave, which sanitizes with extreme heat.  Make sure that surgical-grade stainless steel is used.  Some people have allergic reactions to other types of metals.

 

A.  With an oral piercing, you can chip a tooth fairly easily.  It can occur while eating, sleeping, or chewing on your jewelry.  A chip can entail fracturing the outside enamel of the tooth or fracturing deep into the tooth, which could require a root canal or an extraction.

 

 

A.  Any kind of infection can be serious.  It is important to see your dentist as soon as you notice pain and acute redness around the piercing.  Swelling of the tongue is a normal post-piercing occurrence.  However, on occasion, the tongue can become infected and swell to the point where it cuts off breathing. In these cases doctors have to pass a breathing tube down the patient’s nose until swelling subsides.

 

Dentists are beginning to find that oral infection can spread to other parts of the body via the bloodstream.  The high level of bacteria in the mouth can enter the bloodstream when the mouth is punctured.  Infections can even reach your heart, which causes serious health problems.

 

A.  It typically takes three to four weeks for the tongue to heal after having it pierced.  If all goes well, you can remove the jewelry for short periods of time after it has healed.  At some piercing parlors you can buy plugs to place in the hole, allowing you to remove the jewelry for as long as you need to.

 

When you first get your tongue pierced, the piercer will put in a large, starter “barbell” (jewelry) which gives the tongue room to heal when it swells.  After the swelling goes down, it is advisable to get a smaller barbell that will stay out of the way of your teeth and be more difficult to chew on.

 

To keep your piercing clean and avoid infection, you should use antiseptic mouthwash after each meal and brush the jewelry the same way that you brush your teeth.  Once the piercing has healed, take the piercing out each night to brush it.  This removes unseen plaque.