Health Leader, Oral Piercings

Oral Piercings

So You Want to Pierce Your Tongue?

Oral piercing can cause pain, swelling, infection, drooling, taste loss, scarring, chipped teeth, and tooth loss
Most dentists discourage it because of these risks
To avoid infections such as HIV or hepatitis, ask the person performing the piercing about aftercare, cleanliness and anything that may concern you
Is a fresh needle used for every piercing? Some may reuse needles to keep down the cost of the piercing
Make sure they completely sterilize all needles and instruments in an autoclave, which uses extreme heat to sanitize instruments
If they are not prepared to answer your questions, go somewhere else
Also, make sure that they use the right kind of metal, such as surgical-grade stainless steel. Some people have allergic reactions to certain metals, which can lead to further complications

Chipped teeth

Fractured teeth are a common problem for people with oral piercings
People chip teeth on tongue piercings while eating, sleeping, talking and simply chewing on the jewelry
The fracture can be confined to the enamel of your tooth or may go deep into your tooth, which may require a root canal or extraction

Possible infections

It is not unusual for the tongue to swell after being punctured, but in some cases the tongue becomes infected and swells so much that it can cut off your breathing
In rare cases, doctors may pass a breathing tube through a patient's nose until such an infection passes
Your mouth has high levels of bacteria. When you puncture the oral cavity, these bacteria may find a way into your bloodstream
Bacteria can also reach your heart and cause a variety of health problems

How do I maintain my piercing?

Once your tongue has been pierced, it will take 3-4 weeks to heal
Barring complications, you will be able to remove the jewelry for short periods of time without the hole closing
You may want to remove the jewelry to protect your teeth every time you eat or sleep
Some parlors sell plugs you can place in the hole, which should allow you to remove the jewelry for as long as necessary
The piercer will place a larger, starter "barbell" in your tongue to give it enough room to heal when your tongue swells
If you keep the piercing, get a smaller barbell after the swelling goes down, which will be less likely to get in the way of your teeth and more difficult for you to chew on

Keep it clean

Use an antiseptic mouthwash after every meal and brush the jewelry the same as you would your teeth
After the tongue has healed, take the piercing out every night and brush it as you would your teeth to remove any unseen plaque
Consider removing the piercing before eating, sleeping or strenuous activity

Reprinted with permission from the Academy of General Dentistry

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Eating healthy
reverses metabolic syndrome

Dr. Tasnime Akbaraly of University College London and her colleagues were interested if healthy eating could actually turn-the-tide and reverse metabolic syndrome, which is having 3 or more of the following risk factors: excess abdominal fat; high triglycerides, hypertension, low levels of HDL the “good” cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. Having metabolic syndrome doubles a persons’ risk of heart disease and greatly increases the odds of developing type 2 diabetes.

The researchers studied 339 British civil servants with metabolic syndrome, and how closely the adhered to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) to see if it could help reverse metabolic syndrome. The AHEI is a set of published nutritional guidelines by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2002 that emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and decreased red meat consumption.

Five years into the study, nearly 50% no longer had metabolic syndrome. People who followed the AHEI guidelines the closest were nearly twice as likely to have reversed their metabolic syndrome. The results of the study were published in Diabetes Care, online July 29, 2010.

Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, an expert on diet and heart health from Tufts University in Boston who was not involved in the study said, "It's not about focusing on individual components of the diet, it's really the whole package, and that becomes important because it means that if one of the components of a healthy diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables, just buying a pill saying that there's a concentrated extract of fruits and vegetables is probably not what's going to help you."

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