How Do Oral Piercings Affect Your Dental And Oral Health?

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Online Services for Dentists
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How Do Oral Piercings Affect Your Dental And Oral
Health?
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• Our oral health involves more than just your
  teeth. Our mouth is a moist environment, home to
  huge amounts of breeding bacteria, and an ideal
  place for infection.
• Online Services for Dentists Although your teeth
  should be kept in great shape and cared for on a
  regular basis. You also need to care for your
  gums and the interior of your mouth as well.
• Oral piercing of the tongue, lip, cheek, or other
  soft tissues is a form of body art. These may
  look cool, but they can be dangerous to your
  health.
• An oral (mouth) piercing is a small hole in your
  tongue, lip, cheek, or uvula (the tiny tissue at
  the back of your throat) so you can wear jewelry.
  If you want to have any of these types of
  piercings it is important to note that there are
  some things that can go wrong that can affect
  your dental and oral health.
• When you are making the decision on potentially
  getting an oral piercing you should consider what
  ramifications it has on the overall health of
  your mouth and teeth.
• The issues and complications with oral piercings
  can begin immediately after the piercing
  procedure. Thats because the mouths moist
  environment, home to huge amounts of breeding
  bacteria is an ideal place for infection.

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• Oral piercings are more typically seen in
  adolescents and young adults, and the tongue is
  considered the most common site for oral-piercing
  placement.
• Oral piercings may be placed intraorally (most
  commonly on the tongue) or periorally on the
  lips, cheeks or a combination of sites.
• There are two primary forms of oral piercing the
  term intraoral piercing describes a piercing in
  which both ends of the oral jewelry reside in the
  oral cavity, as seen with tongue piercings.
  Similarly, the term perioral piercing describes a
  piercing in which one end resides in the oral
  cavity and the other end penetrates the skin
  surface in the perioral region (e.g., the cheek,
  upper or lower lip, chin or associated tissues).
• Tongue splitting is a less common form of body
  modification within the oral cavity. By
  definition, the tongue-splitting process is one
  in which an individuals tongue is severed into
  two pieces using various techniques. The
  procedure is inherently invasive and dangerous
  that directly compromises the intact physical
  barrier of the tongue surface, rendering it
  susceptible to significant risks of severe pain,
  bleeding, bacterial infection, inflammation,
  lingual nerve damage or other complications.
• These practices of cosmetic intraoral/perioral
  piercing and tongue splitting are invasive
  procedures with negative health squeal that
  outweigh any potential benefit.

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• While some individuals may consider oral
  piercings to be popular or trendy, numerous
  studies have shown that oral piercings can lead
  to a wide range of oral and systemic
  complications, including
• Excessive drooling (Something you wont see in
  hip fashion magazines!)
• Infection, pain, swelling or bleeding
• Chipped or damaged teeth
• Injuries to the gums
• Laceration/scarring
• Damage to fillings
• Increased saliva flow
• Hypersensitivity to metals
• Embedding or aspiration of jewelry(requiring
  surgical removal)
• Nerve damage
• Airway obstruction
• Purulent or unusual or discharge from the pierced
  region, ,
• These harmful effects can happen during the
  piercing or may not even show up until long after
  the procedure.
• An infection can quickly become life-threatening
  if not treated promptly. For example, oral
  piercing carries a potential risk of
  endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart valves
  or tissues.

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• Bacteria can enter the bloodstream through the
  piercing site in the mouth and travel to the
  heart, where it can colonize on heart
  abnormalities. This is a risk for people with
  heart conditions and, in the worst of cases,
  results in death.
• The piercing will be an added responsibility,
  requiring constant attention and upkeep. Anyone
  interested in oral piercing should first talk to
  their dentist.
• Dentists in dental clinics in Delhi and India are
  following a systematic protocol of 6 monthly
  reminders for patients to come for regular dental
  checkups so that any complication can be detected
  and treated at an incipient stage.
• What health risks are associated with oral
  piercings?
• There are numerous potential risks.
• Infection, pain and swelling The piercing is
  pushed through the flesh of your skin and that
  means that the area is open and susceptible to
  bacteria.
• Theres a risk of infection associated with oral
  piercing due to the wound created, the vast
  amount of bacteria in the mouth, and the
  introduction of additional bacteria from handling
  the jewelry. If the piercing becomes infected it
  can leave the rest of your teeth and gums open to
  the infection as well. An infection can quickly
  become life threatening if not treated promptly.

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• Nerve damage/prolonged bleeding Numbness or
  loss of sensation at the site of the piercing or
  movement problems (for pierced tongues) can occur
  if nerves have been damaged. After a piercing,
  you may experience a numb tongue or loss of
  sensation at the site of piercing or movement
  problems that are caused by nerve damage that is
  usually temporary, but can sometimes be
  permanent. The injured nerve may affect your
  sense of taste, or how you move your mouth.
  Damage to your tongues blood vessels can cause
  serious blood loss. Your mouth and tongue could
  swell so much that you close off your airway or
  you could possibly choke if part of the jewelry
  breaks off in your mouth and making breathing
  difficult.
• Damage to gums One of the issues that having an
  oral piercing has is on the health of your gums.
  The gums are sensitive and do require some
  stimulation but too much is not good. The
  piercing can easily rub up and down on a very
  specific area and cause damage. The damage can
  then lead to the gums receding in that area. The
  gums are necessary protection for your teeth.
• Damage to teeth Online Services for Dentists
  One of the major issues that come because of an
  oral piercing is that you can potentially chip or
  break a tooth. If you are eating or if you bite
  down too hard on the piercing, and repeated
  clicking of the jewelry against teeth can also
  cause damage. The chip or break can lead to
  further damage to the tooth if it is not taken
  care of right away.

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• Difficulties in daily oral functions Tongue
  piercing can result in difficulty chewing and
  swallowing food, and speaking clearly.
• Transmission of diseases Oral piercing is a
  potential risk factor for the transmission of
  herpes simplex virus and hepatitis B and C.
• Endocarditis Because of the wound created by the
  piercing, theres a chance that bacteria could
  enter the bloodstream and lead to the development
  of endocarditis an inflammation of the heart or
  its valves, in certain people with heart health
  problems.
• Allergic reaction to metal A hypersensitivity
  reaction an allergic reaction to the metal in
  the jewelry can occur in susceptible people.
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