Oral Piercing: Body Art, Or A Dangerous Fad?

What is up with the quest for the ultimate in self expression? One has to wonder what the young people of today are thinking...body art has become "the in thing"  and the more creative, the better.  Bigger tattoos to be had with bolder statements to be made, tongue tattoos, tongue piercing, jeweled adornments to the upper and lower lip...even having jewels affixed to front teeth!  The problem is they just don't understand that most of it is permanent! Sure, you can remove a piercing, but the hole doesn't close up fast, leaving room for infection to creep in...eeew! Or, try having a tattoo removed from your tongue. Yeah....it doesn't come off in one shot like it went on. I'm not even certain a tongue tattoo can be removed!

These practices are cause for huge concern with those of us in the dental industry, particularly with regard to tongue art!  We've seen it all,  but the problem is getting the message across to the young crowd.  Now, when it comes to young people, one can imagine their reasons for wanting these things...  "it makes you look cool, it's an extreme experience, the whole "forbidden fruit" thing (they know their parents won't like it)"... now if only we could get them to listen to the other side of the argument. Asking them "how do you think you will like that when you're 40 or 50" doesn't work...they simply cannot imagine themselves at that age. The other question, " do you expect someone to hire you looking like that?" will only generate an eye roll, because frankly, they don't care!  But, a picture, well that's worth a thousand words.  If you're a parent and you are trying to deter your teen or (they're getting even younger now) tween from getting a tongue piercing or a tongue tattoo, scan the Internet for stories and pictures of infections caused by these practices and show them to your child.  If that doesn't do it, nothing will! In the meantime, I have included a link with a pretty good story.

Here is a link to an article that contains a story of a girl who had her tongue pierced and nearly died....

Parents, never give up!  Keep trying to discourage your kids from this dangerous fad!

All the while, keep smiling!