This is a trend that is ever growing and it probably isn't going to stop any time soon. Everywhere you look, you see a new piercing, or a striking tattoo covering someone's skin.
It allows us to be unique and to show it off in unprecedented ways. We think about how others will see us, we think about pain tolerance, and we think about how it will look later. What we often fail to think about is how it can affect our health later on. Tongue piercings in particular can cause a lot of problems with our oral health.
Long Term Consequences
Tongue piercings appear in many ways, most commonly the stud through the center of the tongue, but sometimes you see rings or multiple barbells as well. Pretty cool, right?
Looking at it from a dental perspective, not so much. You see, over time, these piercings create a lot of irreversible damage. One problem it can cause is tooth movement, or diastema.
The piercing exerts pressure on the teeth and since most users do not remove them regularly since the holes close so quickly, over time the teeth move around. The jewelry can also cause chips or cracks in the teeth from talking or accidentally biting the barbell.
This could cause damage severe enough to require a root canal. Mostly right after the initial piercing, it is also very easy to get a bacterial infection that can wreak havoc on your mouth.
These piercings may look really cool, but are the consequences really worth it? Contact our office for a second opinion, but these piercings do not come highly recommended. They can lead to tooth loss, painful infections, or cracks.
If you are dead set on getting a barbell inserted, however, be sure to take as good of care of it as you possibly can, and do your research first to try and minimize complications.