Goodlettsville Dental Services

Tongue Piercing

A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue, and is one of most popular piercing sites in the western world after the ear.

History and Culture

There is a history of ritual tongue piercing in both Aztec and Maya cultures, with illustrations of priests piercing their tongue and then either drawing blood from it or passing rough cords, designed to inflict pain, through the hole. There is no evidence of permanent or long term tongue piercing in Aztec culture, however, despite the practice of many other permanent body modifications. It was done to honour the gods.

Piercing the tongue has a long history in religious and performance practices. Mesoamericans such as the Aztecs practiced this as well as other perforations as a part of offerings to their deities. Islamic Fakirs and Sufis from the Middle East, and Asian Spirit Mediums of the Far East practiced tongue piercing as an offering and proof of trance state.

The reason for the central Aboriginal Australian holy man’s practice of piercing the tongue was to enable the holy man to "suck with his tongue the evil magic out of his patients body. From the turn of the 20th century, Western Carnies borrowed many of their sideshow tricks from fakirs bringing to American and European audiences their first glimpses of tongue piercing.

Permanent or long term piercing of the tongue is part of the resurgence of body piercing in contemporary society. The ready availability of high quality, surgical steel barbell style jewellery is associated with the emergence of this piercing in the 1980s. As with many piercing innovations, the origin of this piercing is associated with Gauntlet, the first professional body piercing studio in the United States, formerly located in Los Angeles, California. Elayne Angel, the first person awarded the Master Piercer’s certificate by Jim Ward, body piercing pioneer and founder of Gauntlet, is commonly associated with the promotion and popularity of this piercing. Also note that the tongue piercing is not gender specific, it was not created specifically for just a man or just a woman. Popular names for tongue piercing include tongue ring, a misnomer, as only rarely are rings worn in tongue piercings.

Jewelry

Straight barbells with either plastic or metal beads are commonly worn in tongue piercings.

Often pierced with straight barbell style jewelry. Due to the frequent movement of the tongue, jewelry size and comfort is especially important. Barbells that are too thin are prone to migration, causing discomfort and irritation. Tongue piercings can often be easily stretched to accommodate larger jewelry. Often the initial piercing is done at 2 mm, stretching a few months later to 2.4 or 3 mm. It is possible to stretch further to diameters beyond 10 mm. The beads at the end of the barbell can be made of many decorative materials, including plastic, but the environment of the mouth can cause cracking and discoloration in the jewelry over time. "No-see-um beads", flat beads matching the color of the tongue, are sometimes worn to conceal this piercing, often in places of employment.

Procedure

Piercing

The placement is marked and a clamp applied. Initial jewelry is usually longer than will ultimately be required, to allow for swelling, which is common following the piercing. Within two days of getting the piercing the tongue can swell up to double its original size. This can lead to pain when speaking and eating, also can make speech difficult. Piercers often recommend drinking cold beverages and chewing on ice to help reduce the swelling.

Because of the tongue’s exceptional healing ability, piercings can close very fast. Even completely healed holes can close up in a matter of hours, and larger-gauged holes can close in just a few days. The length of time for the hole to heal varies greatly from person to person – some people with larger-gauged holes (greater than 4ga) can still fit jewelry (albeit smaller) in their piercing after months or even years. It is generally recommended to avoid piercing in bodies under development or in people not capable of taking care of a recent piercing. Teens from the age of 16 onwards usually don’t report problems.

Traditional

The traditional placement for a tongue piercing is along the midline of the tongue, in the center of the mouth. It is often approximately .75 inches (1.9 cm) or so back from the tip of the tongue. It is placed with the top a little further back than the bottom, which allows the top of the jewelry to lean slightly back, away from the teeth, and toward the higher part of the upper palate where there is more room in the mouth. It is also usually positioned just in front of the attachment of the lingual frenulum.

Variations

A tongue frenulum piercing is a piercing through the frenulum underneath the tongue, known as the frenulum linguae, and commonly the tongue web piercing. "Venom Bites" is the term given to two tongue piercings placed side by side on the tongue, which are considered to be more painful than a regular tongue piercing through the tongue’s center. Although the term "angel bite" is sometimes referred to as two piercings in the tongue with one placed right in front of another, the term is much more common for two Monroe piercings on either side of the face. There is also the "snake-eyes" which is one curved bar going horizontally through the tip of your tongue, it is mostly painless other than a mild amount of pressure. It is possible to use a (stretched) tongue piercing as a first step to tongue splitting.

Risks

Tooth damage can result from wearer "playing" with the barbell by rubbing it along his or her teeth.

Oral piercings tend to actually heal faster (2–4 weeks) than many other piercings, which can take many months depending on location, as long as appropriate care to prevent infection is taken.

The two most common long-term complications of intra-oral ornament are dental fracture and wear (affecting 14% to 41% of subjects), and gum recession (affecting 19% to 68% of subjects). In some cases, the alveolar tooth-bearing bone is also involved, jeopardizing the stability and durability of the teeth. If planning on removing any tongue piercing to either take out for any such reason or switch the barbells one should wait approximately 4 weeks after piercing, so as to minimize the risk of developing an infection on the tongue.

The American Dental Association (ADA) has cited a few other potential risks specific to oral piercings: severe bleeding or nerve damage if pierced incorrectly by an inexperienced person, some jewelry may come loose in the mouth, creating a choking hazard, and the jewelry may interfere with one’s speech, depending on where it’s placed in the tongue. The influence on speech is however minimal and not permanent.

Single cases of fatal infection are reported.