Tongue Piercing - Is It Really Cool?
Tongue, lip, and cheek piercings have become more common, but often the person with the piercing is unaware of the damage that piercings can cause to his or her oral health.
Oral piercings can cause chipped or cracked teeth, blood clots, blood poisoning, heart infections, brain abscesses, nerve disorders (trigeminal neuralgia), receding gums and/or scar tissue. Your mouth contains millions of bacteria, and infection is a common complication of oral piercing. Your tongue could swell large enough to close off your airway!
Common symptoms after piercing include pain, swelling, infection, an increased flow of saliva, and injuries to gum tissue. Difficult-to-control bleeding or nerve damage can result if a blood vessel or nerve bundle is in the path of the needle.
Please consider following the advice of the American Dental Association and give your mouth a break – skip the mouth jewelry!