Get tongue-in-cheek!

Dr. Sahira Sandhu

Oral piercing is an ancient practice of body modification and self-expression, which now has caught the fancy of adolescents and young adults. The earlobe is the most universal site for body piercing but it’s definitely not the only option out there. The tongue, lips, nose, eyebrows, nipples, navel (belly button), and genital piercings are the new talk of the town.

The reasons for piercing vary. Some people pierce for religious or spiritual reasons, while others pierce for self-expression, for aesthetic value, for sexual pleasure, to conform to their culture or to rebel against it.

Gem in your mouth

Oral piercings may be placed intra-orally (most commonly on the tongue) or peri-orally on the lips, cheeks or a combination of sites. Tongue splitting is another less common form of body modification that literally splits, or bifurcates, an individual’s tongue from front to back, creating a ‘forked’ appearance down the anterior midline.

Common forms of oral jewellery include studs, barbells, rings and hoops, which are fabricated using a variety of metals, such as stainless steel, gold, titanium and various alloys or synthetic materials.

Before you do it

Having the piercing may be cool but always consider the effect it can have on your health.

The oral cavity is a warm, moist environment that contains millions of bacteria. These bacteria can then be transmitted to others without proper infection control measures or can migrate through the piercing wound into the bloodstream.

Make sure that

• You are up-to-date on vaccines for Hepatitis B and tetanus.
• Pick a piercing shop that appears clean and well run.
• Look for a piercer, who has a license, which means he is trained.
• The piercer should wash his hands with germ-killing soap, wear fresh disposable gloves, and use sterilised tools or ones that are thrown away after one use.
• The needle is new and has never been used.
• Jewellery is made of surgical steel, solid gold, or platinum.

Post piercing care

To reduce risks of oral infection after piercing procedures, pierced individuals are advised to maintain a standard oral hygiene regimen that includes:

• Rinse your tongue or lip piercing after every meal or snack and before going to bed. Use warm salt water or an antibacterial, alcohol-free mouthwash.
• Twice-daily tooth-brushing with a soft-bristle toothbrush and using a fluoride-containing toothpaste.
• Regular use of floss.
• With clean hands, check the tightness of jewellery to avoid choking or swallowing dislodged jewellery.

(Dr Sandhu is a Chandigarh-based prosthodontics)