What You Need to Know About Oral Piercings

At College Park Dental we understand that many of our dental patients choose to have oral piercings, normally of the lip or tongue.  While, as dental professionals, we do not recommend that our patients pierce these parts of the body – if you choose to maintain oral piercings it is important to understand the risks and to also learn to care for your piercings.

First and foremost, an oral piercing puts you at a much higher risk for damage to your teeth as well as for infections of the mouth or illness.  It is also possible for your oral piercings to become snagged, causing tears, pain and scarring.  Additionally, there is always a risk for choking when it comes to regularly keeping a piece of jewelry in your mouth or on the lips.

The most serious long-term health problem from an oral piercing comes in the form of damage to the soft tissues such as the cheeks, gums and palate, as well as opportunistic infections. Any kind of body piercing may also put you at risk of contracting infectious diseases.  Tongue piercings have been known to cause blocked airways and uncontrolled bleeding.

If you have an oral piercing it is important to remove it frequently in order to clean both your mouth and your jewelry. Doing so will help reduce your risk for infection.