Tongue piercing, or piercing of any other intraoral (within the
mouth) site, is associated with a variety of risks. Please consider these
risks carefully before deciding whether to have your tongue pierced.
Risk of infection: Body piercers must adhere to infection control
standards, such as sterilization of needles and other instruments, to
prevent disease transmission; but many practitioners are unlicensed
and often self-trained. Intraoral piercing has a high risk of infection
because of the high levels of bacteria in the mouth. Infection can lead
to a variety of health problems.
Risk of dental damage: Intraoral jewelry can injure teeth by
chipping or cracking enamel. While cracking may be confined to the
tooth surface, it may also go deep into the tooth. This could result in
nerve damage, leading to the need for a root canal (a procedure by
which the small, tubular channel normally filled with pulp in the root
of a tooth is opened, cleaned, and filled) or an extraction. Most
dentists discourage oral piercing because of these and other risks.
Tongue piercing is painful, as no anesthesia is used. Complications
of tongue piercing, other than those listed above, can include:
Loss of blood during the piercing procedure
Compromise of the airway by post-surgical tongue swelling
