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Ask Your Dentist about the Dangers of Oral Piercings

Ask Your Dentist about the Dangers of Oral Piercings

Oral Piercings may be all the rage, but if your teen has been begging you to comply, there are some things regarding teeth and gums that may persuade your kids to change their mind.

According to Web MD, lip, tongue and cheek piercing is associated with a number of health risks including infections, disease transmission, nerve damage, allergic reactions, jewelry aspiration and endocarditis. Prolonged bleeding and gum disease can also occur if your son or daughter decides to go through with tongue splitting or oral piercing.

Infections occur when the wound that is created by the piercing itself is introduced to additional bacteria. The mouth is already host to massive amounts of bacteria and if jewelry is added to the mix, it can increase your son or daughters risk to infection.

Herpes Simplex virus and hepatitis B and C can also be transmitted during oral piercings thanks to the addition of bacteria from oral jewelry and the piercing itself.

If a bacterium is allowed to enter the blood stream, which can sometimes happen with oral piercings, inflammation of the heart valves and the heart itself could occur, especially if the person that has had oral piercings has undiagnosed heart problems. This is known as Endocarditis.  

The site of the piercing will be numb to begin with, but in some cases, that numbness may be permanent. People who have had oral piercings could have permanent nerve damage.

Tongue swelling is natural after a tongue piercing, but your dentist has seen cases where the tongue swells up so much that it blocks the airways making breathing nearly impossible.

According to a recent dental journal, 47 percent of people who wear tongue, cheek or lip jewelry have had at least one chipped tooth.

People who wear tongue jewelry on a regular basis are at risk when it comes to gum disease as the jewelry is exposed to the gums causing injury. Once this happens, the gums will begin to recede eventually leading to tooth loss.

One of the worst things that can happen is known as jewelry aspiration. If jewelry becomes loose, people are more apt to swallow the jewelry. If this occurs, it could cause damage to the lungs or the digestive track.

If you would like more information on the dangers of oral piercings, schedule an appointment with your dentist who may be able to convince your son or daughter once and for all.