Oral Piercings & Your Dental Health

Bowmanville is full of wonderful people who enjoy expressing themselves through body art and Oral Piercings are very “in” right now. At Bowmanville Dental we fully support and love the creativity of this. However, we want to make sure everyone stays happy and healthy with their decisions to get an oral piercing.

Oral piercings includes any objects being implanted into the face area from the cheek bones down to the chin. Tongue splitting and cheek piercing may “look” awesome to some people but we want to make sure you are fully informed of the risks. Your mouth contains millions of bacteria, and swelling and infection are often occurrences unless you are taking correct care of your new look. Below is a list of the risks you take when getting a piercing in your mouth or lower face.

1. Infection – This one is a typical no-brainer when getting any piercing. Almost 50% of all properly care for oral piercings will get infected at some point in the first 6 months of rocking the new look. And with infection comes pain and swelling. As with any infection, it can become life threatening if not dealt with in a proper manner and quickly. We are not trying to scare you, but this is the truth. Luckily since this type a piercing is so prominent on your face it is hard to ignore and most seek health quickly if they sense something is wrong.
2. Damage to the Nerves – Typically while healing there will be some numbness in the area that you have gotten pierced. This usually goes away as the swelling subsides, but sometimes in rare cases this is permanent damage.
3. Damage to Teeth & Gums – This one hits us at home as a dental clinic in Bowmanville. Having a piercing near you mouth where you tongue can play with the metal can cause damage to your teeth and gums. It quickly becomes a habit to play with the new metal in your mouth and as a result you may cause damage to your gums. Oral piercings end up resting against the gum line inside your mouth. The tissue can be irritated and worn away in just a matter of 4 weeks. The affected teeth may become sensitive and will seem very long compared to the ones next to them. If this happens it is NOT reversible even after removing the piercing and you may need surgery on your gums to correct it.
4. Dental Clinic Difficulties – At Bowmanville Dental we try to make everyone comfortable and want to be able to provide the best care possible. Sometimes we have to get creative when a client comes in with a mouth piercing to ensure it is not blocking our x-rays and other machinery.
5. Drooling – This one is more of an annoyance and sometimes and embarrassment for those with an oral piercing. You may drool. A lot.

If you already have an oral piercing it is extremely important to your oral and overall health to contact your dentist if you have any signs of infection (swelling, fever, chills).

Even if you do everything right and take every precaution with your new piercing it is still very important that you monitor the swelling and area every day, for as long as you have it. Always remember that getting an oral piercing is an extra responsibility you will have until the piercing is out of your body.

If you have any concerns about your oral piercing or about your dental health in general, contact Bowmanville Dental and we will be happy to help you!