Tongue piercing and its adverse effects

doi:10.1067/moe.2003.83

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology

Volume 95, Issue 3, March 2003, Pages 274-276

https://doi.org/10.1067/moe.2003.83 Get rights and content

Abstract

Piercing has become so popular during the last 20 to 30 years that many physicians are now treating patients with piercings and dealing with its side effects. We present 3 cases that illustrate the complications of tongue piercing (ie, infection, bleeding, and embedded ornaments). We describe the methods for inserting the ornaments to illustrate the possible adverse effects. Treatment recommendations and their application to those 3 patients are described. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2003;95:274-6)

Section snippets

Patient 1

A 20-year-old woman with pain and swelling in the submental area of 4 days' duration came to the emergency room at Barzilai Medical Center. She reported that she had had her tongue pierced 6 days earlier. Her medical history was unremarkable. The clinical examination revealed submental swelling (Fig 1) that was hard, not fluctuant, and expanding to the submandibular areas bilaterally.

. Patient 1: Submental and submandibular swelling caused by infection after tongue piercing.

Local erythema and

Discussion

In the absence of complications, healing occurs during the 4 to 6 weeks after the procedure. Common symptoms after piercing include pain—the most profound and immediate consequence, which is caused by the lack of any kind of anesthesia during the procedure—and swelling.² Edema of the tongue is common in tongue piercing because of the great vascularity of this region; furthermore, this edema sometimes may compromise the airway and cause obstruction. The piercing is performed with a needle of a

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Hazards of piercing and facial body art: a report of three patients and literature review
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CS Farah et al.
Tongue piercing: case report and review of current practice
Aust Dent J
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MJ Fehrenbach
Tongue piercing and potential oral complications
J Dent Hygiene
(1998)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (29)

Health risks for body pierced community: a systematic review
2022, Public Health
Body piercing is defined as the penetration of jewellery into openings made in different body areas. In the last decades, it has become increasingly common in the general population. The aim is to analyse the available literature about complications from body piercing for contributing to raise the awareness towards this issue and to plan and perform appropriate prevention interventions.
This is a systematic review.
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to perform this systematic review; the protocol was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42020177972]. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from database inception to April 2020, and articles in English language reporting a proven association between piercings and health risks were included, and their quality were assessed by adequate quality assessment tools.
A total of 4748 studies were found, and after duplicates removal and screening, 84 articles were included. Studies dealing with microbiological effects reported these complications both locally and at distant sites as a result of the spreading of the primary site infection: mastitis, endocarditis, glomerulonephritis, cephalic tetanus, viral hepatitis, HIV, cerebellar brain abscess and toxic shock syndrome. In addition, bleeding, gingival recession, dental injuries, contact dermatitis, granulomatous dermatitis, keloid, fibroma and basal cell carcinoma were reported.
Health authorities should promote educational campaigns to spread the knowledge on health risks related to piercings. Besides, piercers are often not adequately aware of all the possible adverse effects due to piercings because their professional training differs among countries. It is therefore advisable to provide periodical upgrade of their education in this field.
Awareness of complications of oral piercing in a group of adolescents and young South African adults
2010, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology
Intraoral piercing as a body art has been gaining popularity amongst adolescents and young adults; however there is limited data on the awareness to complications associated with it. This study investigated the awareness of complications of oral piercing among a group of adolescents and young South African adults with intraoral piercings.
A total of 250 patients with intraoral piercing were asked to complete a questionnaire on the awareness of complications of oral piercing and were then examined by two calibrated dentists to determine oral complications caused by the pierced ornament.
Data revealed that 59.4% of the respondents were not aware of any complications in oral piercing. 24% of the respondents had intraoral piercing in the last 12 months, with a combined total of 17.2% having the procedure performed 5 to 7 years before.
The general lack of awareness of complications related to oral piercing needs to be addressed by the dental community.
Foreign Body Removal
2008, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Thrombophlebitis of the Sigmoid Sinus After Tongue Piercing: A Case Report
2007, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Citation Excerpt :
Many complications due to tongue piercing have already been described in the literature. Besides pain and edema,1 local and regional infections can appear. The most common complication is acute glossitis,2 which can lead to Ludwig’s angina3 and severe respiratory problems.
Foreign Body Removal
2007, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Oral piercings among first-year university students
2005, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology
The aim of the study was to examine oral piercings among first-year university students.
First-year university students in 2002 were invited to a dental examination (n = 234; 49 men and 185 women). Students with piercings formed the study group and the rest served as controls. The methods included decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMF) index, stimulated salivary flow rates, panoramic tomograms, and questionnaires including the Depression Inventory of Beck. Fisher's 2-sided exact test was used for statistical analysis.
The prevalence of oral piercings was 3.4%. In the DMF indices, no statistically significant differences existed between the groups. Increased salivary flow rates were noted among students with piercings (63% vs 26%, P < .05). Use of tobacco and illicit drugs, and also depression, were more prevalent in the study group than in the controls.
Because of the possibility of oral implications, follow-up of oral piercings is essential.

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^*: Reprint requests: O. Nahlieli, DMD, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Barzilai Medical Center, 78306-Ashkelon, Israel, [email protected]

^**: ^aResident, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon.

^*: ^bStaff Surgeon, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon.

^**: ^cConsultant, Oral Medicine, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon, and Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem.

^*: ^dProfessor and Chairman, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon, and Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem.

^**: 1079-2104/2003/$30.00 + 0

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Clinical NotesTongue piercing and its adverse effects*,**,*,**,*,**

Abstract

Section snippets

Patient 1

Discussion

Hazards of piercing and facial body art: a report of three patients and literature review

Ann Plast Surg

Tongue piercing: case report and review of current practice

Aust Dent J

Tongue piercing and potential oral complications

J Dent Hygiene

Clinical Notes
Tongue piercing and its adverse effects*,**,*,**,*,**