Tongue Piercing There Are Risks

I will state up front, I do not advocate tongue piercing. I fully expect to hear from those that do advocate this procedure in order to 'be an individual'. Let me answer your emails up front. It is a sad day when a piece of metal that is ripped through a major body part defines you as an individual. Try striving for excellence in your field of study or helping those around you instead. For parents that are thinking of allowing their teenager to have this procedure done, I want to point out the risk factors in quotes from expert doctors and dentists on the Net. These are the things that your teenager will not tell you, nor will the piercing shop. Remember that you are responsible for your teenagers health and all medical complications that can come with tongue piercings.

From Dr. Kimberly A. Loos, DDS
A Q & A at Parents Place
'The barbell end of the jewelry pierced through the tongue, lip, or cheek can be removed but it is usually worn permanently. This can lead to chipped teeth, difficulty eating, and difficulty speaking clearly. It is not uncommon for the tongue to swell up for several days after the piercing procedure. One report described a case where the swelling partially blocked the patient's trachea (wind pipe) and caused serious difficulty breathing!'

Dr. Shari Welch, LDS Hospital
Article on ABC News.com
'As a result, doctors are starting to see more of body piercing’s dark side: Infections from dirty puncture wounds now happen in one out of every five piercings... An 18-year-old woman who came to the emergency room at LDS Hospital 15 months ago died from overwhelming infection caused by bacteria in a tongue piercing in her own mouth.'

The Infectious Diseases Society of America
Reported on OnHealth
'Aside from increasing your chances of chipping a tooth, tongue piercing could lead to nasty--even life-threatening--infections...'

Dr. David M. Shafer, a dentist at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery division of the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn.
Pierced Tongues a Bacteria Haven
'The mouth is the ideal environment for bacteria -- warm and moist," Dr. Shafer says. "With a wound on the tongue -- and this is a wound -- bacteria can easily enter and infection can quickly follow.'

Jay L. Levy, DDS & the American Dental Association
Just Say No to Tongue Piercing
'Piercing may cause permanent numbness and/or paralyze the tongue if a nerve is injured... Levy calls a tongue pierce a "plaque trap" that can sabotage proper dental hygiene. "There is now an extra thing in the middle of the tongue that can collect food and plaque," he says.'