Tongue Piercing: The Hole Truth

Tongue piercing has become a popular trend, a form of body art and self-expression, but it should not be a frivolous, spur of the moment decision. Tongue piercing poses serious risks to your oral and overall health due to the high number of bacteria normally found in the mouth. It is essentially a surgical procedure that is frequently performed in beauty salons, tattoo and piercing parlors, concerts, college dorm rooms, and bathrooms. "It's strange, you need a license to cut hair or to give a pedicure, but you don't need one to puncture someone's body," Jeff Wall, chief of enforcement with the California State Dental Board states.

Those considering oral piercing of any kind should be aware of the risks involved and seek the advice of a dental professional.

Some of the nonlife-threatening risks include:

• Pain. A 14-gauge needle is usually used to pierce tongues. It is 7 times larger than a traditional dental needle.
• Cracked and chipped teeth
• Speech interference
• Allergic reactions to the jewelry
• Neuromas. Overgrown nerve tissues that develop in response to bodily trauma.
• Gum damage.
• Keloid formation. Large growths of scar tissue.
• Prolonged or permanent drooling.
• Damaged sense of taste.

The most serious risks:

• The tongue can swell dramatically in size in response to trauma. This poses the risk of airway obstruction, which can lead to death.
• Excessive bleeding can occur if the major vessels of the lingual artery and vein, located in the tongue, are pierced.
• Blood poisoning commonly known as toxic shock syndrome can enter the body through the piercing wound and spread throughout the body.
• The jewelry placed in the tongue can work loose and block the airway, become aspirated in the lung, or perforate the bowel or intestine.
• The needle may be contaminated with AIDS or Hepatitis B, C, D, or G.
• Serious complications and secondary infections when local infections were ignored and tongue studs left in place.

Recently, two tongue piercing cases were reviewed at the Infectious Diseases Society of America's annual meeting. In each case, the patient developed life-threatening secondary infections due to tongue piercing.

The first case involved a 29-year-old woman who reported pain in her tongue and chest a week after having her tongue pierced. Upon examination, doctors found abnormal fluid around her heart that was infected. In the second case, a 22-year-old woman developed a chest abscess that needed to be drained and treated with antibiotics.

The American Dental Association, the National Institute of Health, and the National Hepatitis Foundation stand firmly against oral piercing.