Chicago Cosmetic Dentist

 These days, a pierced tongue is not an uncommon feature in the mouths of many young people. Unfortunately, this trend has some dangerous potential side effects of which people need to be aware. The following is a list of the top reasons not to have one’s tongue pierced.

1.    For purely dental reasons, it is not a good idea. The barbell is capable of chipping and damaging teeth which then have to be corrected through the use of crowns. Unfortunately, crowns wear out so over a person’s life span, so these individuals have to have their teeth re-done numerous times. In addition to causing the teeth to be chipped, tongue piercings can mess up the straight teeth many people went through so much pain to get.

2.    Choking. It is not unheard-of for an individual’s barbell to come loose in that person’s mouth. This then, frequently, results in the part that screws on going down the wrong way. In people who are lucky, this only requires passing a bronchoscope down the throat to fish it out. In unlucky situations, chest surgery is required.

3.    Infection. The mouth is a dirty place filled with loads of bacteria that would love nothing more than to take up residence in a wound caused by a freshly pierced tongue. Once there, the infection can spread quickly and result in drastic measures being taken.

4.    Blood Loss. The tongue is home to some serious arteries. Sometimes, those arteries are nicked when the tongue is pierced, resulting in a lot of blood loss. The injuries are frequently severe enough that surgery is required to repair the tongue.

5.    Nerve damage. In addition to arteries, the tongue is home to a bunch of nerves. It is not difficult to hit one of these nerves while piercing the tongue and then having to suffer through pain for the rest of one’s life or suffer through an improperly working tongue.

6.    Hepatitis or HIV. Many people who perform tongue piercings do not sterilize their equipment correctly. This results in infection of numerous people with HIV or Hepatitis.

For more information on the dangers of tongue piercings, contact Chicago cosmetic dentist Dr. Sumeet Bagai at 7730767-1554.