Oral Piercings: A Dentist’s Perspective

They seem to be all the rage right now. People love the way piercings look in their tongue, lips, and cheeks. While it can look great after the initial pain of getting them, but dentists aren’t too fond of them for various reasons.

While we certainly don’t want to tell anyone how to live their lives, there are some added risks for oral piercings that you may not realize.

Common Popular Oral Piercings

Tongue piercings are very popular. There are several types from a bar inserted in a hole in the middle of the tongue. There are piercing for the frenulum, the skin below your tongue. There are even people that get their uvula, the hanging down skin at the back of your throat, pierced.

Lip piercings can’t be anywhere from one located on the side or in the center. There are people that have multiple lip piercings. There are other piercings that can be placed between the skin and the gums.

People pierce just about anywhere they can including in their gums. It’s important to maintain aftercare for safety reasons, but it’s not always easy.

Problems Stemming from Oral Piercings

All piercings come with swelling and the possibility of infection. When the piercings involve the mouth it can be even more dangerous.

It’s vitally important to keep the area of the piercing clean until it properly heals. It’s one thing to dab your ear piercing with some hydrogen peroxide and another to clean your frenulum piercings.

The mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria. It’s easy for them to slip into wounded areas of a new piercing and cause an infection.

If the technician wasn’t very good, then there is a risk of developing scar tissues or you could have a metal allergy you didn’t know about. There are many reasons why oral piercings can be difficult to manage.

Oral Piercings and Teeth

You might think the bar through your tongue looks cool, but what happens if you fall and the metal bar hits your teeth? You would be surprised the number of people who come in for chipped or cracked teeth because of their piercings.

The piercings can also be painful for several days. This pain can be aggravated by brushing your teeth. You might dislike brushing your teeth because of how it feels with the new piercing. All of these lead to a decline in oral health and maintenance.

If you’re having problems because of your oral piercings, please contact us and we’ll see what we can do to help you.

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