Should You Use Oral Piercings?

In the recent years, one way of self-expression has been the use of oral piercings which mainly include piercings used on the tongue, cheeks and lips. These jewelry items come in different forms such as studs, rings and barbells. However, it is worth mentioning here that there are some great health-risks associated with the oral piercings. Therefore, you need to get advice from your dentist before you decide to get any part of your oral cavity pierced.

Having that said, a few health risks associated with the oral piercings are worth mentioning here.

1. The number one health risk associated with the oral piercings is the oral infection. When you get your tongue, cheek or lip pierced, you let the oral bacteria to interact with the wounded part. Furthermore, the metallic jewelry cannot find the existence of bacteria on its own.
2. There are a lot of blood vessels in different areas of oral cavity. It means that there is greater chance for any of the blood vessels to get punctured with the metal is pierced. As a result, you may start suffering prolonged bleeding in your mouth.
3. Since it is the piercing you are dealing with, you can expect the pierced area to suffer from swelling and pain. A severely swollen tongue can increase in size enough to block the airway, leading to the blocked breath.
4. Presence of oral jewelry can damage teeth by fracturing them. This piercing can come in contact with the teeth and cause teeth to be chipped in the process. These piercings can specifically be dangerous for oral restorations such as fillings and crowns.
5. Gums can get damaged due to these piercings. Gums consist of soft tissues which do not only get damaged due to interaction with the piercings but can also recede. Receded gums do not only look bad but they can also leave the tooth root exposed, leading to an open spot where oral bacteria can attack and develop infections in direct manner.
6. Another disadvantage of oral piercings is that they disturb a lot of oral functions such as speaking, chewing and biting. It also initiates excessive saliva flow which is not good for oral health in general.
7. Oral piercings can lead to other blood-borne diseases which can be fatal. Hepatitis B, C, D and G are the diseases which can happen due to oral piercings.
8. Use of oral piercings can result in development of endocarditis which is an inflammation related to blood veins. During the process of piercing, oral bacteria find their way through blood vessels to the heart.

Although you should avoid these piercings, you need to consult your dentist in case you still want to use them.