Wimbledon Dentist advises on risks attached to Tongue Piercing

Wimbledon Dentist advises on risks attached to Tongue Piercing

Proposals  by the Welsh government to stop children under 16 getting body piercings without their parents’ permission are soon to be announced.

The most popular places to get a piercing in your mouth are the lips, tongue, cheek, and the uvula (the “hanging-ball”  in the back of your throat.)People  get their tongue pierced for a variety of reasons.  One of the biggest reasons is to make them look trendy — be one of the crowd, and if they can be seen as cool for getting their tongue pierced, then they’ll go for it.

 10 Ways Tongue Piercing Hurts Your Mouth and Teeth

1 – Tongue piercing causes chips, cracks, and/or fractures in your teeth. Wearing tongue jewellery can not only damage your teeth, but it can cause and damage  expensive dental work that you may have already had done.

The effect of tongue jewellery on teeth is more damaging when participating in exercise and athletic activities.  When in doubt, take the barbell out!  It is important to note that  leaving out your tongue jewellery for more than a few hours, may make it nearly impossible to get the jewellery back in.

Tongue piercings are just one of the many ways you can chip or crack your teeth.

2 – Tongue piercing causes gum recession, known as localized periodontal disease. If you wear a barbell in your tongue, it can rub up against and irritate the gums on the tongue side of your teeth.  This has led to gum recession in many people with tongue piercings.  In older adults, periodontal disease (not cavities) is usually the most common cause of tooth loss.

3 – Tongue piercing can wear down your teeth. Habit causes many tongue-jewellery wearers to rub their tongue ring up against their teeth. Over time, this can wear down the enamel exposing dentin or experience increased sensitivity or cavities. Accidentally biting a tongue stud can cause teeth to crack.If you really must have a tongue piercing, trying shorter barbell may reduce the damage that it inpacts on your mouth — although it would be best to avoid  tongue jewellery altogether!

4 – Tongue piercing can cause speech impediments. Tongue piercing can make it more difficult to talk.  You use your tongue for making a lot of sounds when you talk.  If youhave tongue jewelry it can make you lisp, making it a lot harder to speak correctly.

5 – Tongue piercing can cause nerve damage. An inexperienced piercing parlor worker may inadvertently cause permanent damage to the nerves in your tongue or other areas of the mouth depending on how the tongue is pierced.  The person doing the piercing needs to have a sound knowledge of the anatomy of your tongue.  If you do get your tongue pierced, it’s of paramount important to find a reputable, high-quality piercing parlor to cut a hole in your tongue.

You probably wouldn’t relish the thought of having parts of your tongue permanently numb.  Many people hate having their tongue numb for a couple of hours after getting a filling — just imagine how hard it would be to not fully enjoy the taste of your food or constantly have your tongue give you that numb, tingling sensation.

6 – Tongue piercing can cause bad breath. Tongue jewellery is a good place for the plaque in your mouth to live and grow.  It’s harder to brush if you have tongue jewellery.  Also, if you don’t regularly clean your tongue jewellery, it will accumulate bacteria that make your breath smell pretty disgusting!

7 – Tongue piercing can cause a space between your two upper front teeth, also known as a diastema.

8 – Tongue piercing can cause excessive drooling. Tongue piercing can cause an increase in the amount of saliva you make.  Although saliva is good for the teeth, too much can be a problem.  You probably won’t look too cool with a tongue ring if you leave a puddle of spit everywhere you go!

9 – The metal tongue jewellery can cause a metal hypersensitivity reaction. You could end up being allergic to the metal in your tongue jewellery. Resulting in you having to wear a plastic barbell, you may be disappointed.

10 – Tongue piercing can cause pain and infection. piercing always carries a risk of infection, but that risk is greater with mouth piercing because of the closeness of the airway.Infection can cause your tongue to swell, blocking or restricting the airway. In addition, bacteria under the tongue often spread quickly and can lead, in extreme cases, to the potentially fatal toxic shock syndrome or blood poisoning.

Many people who have had their tongue pierced say that it was quite painful and most people have some degree of swelling after their tongue piercing