Clamp Got Your Tongue?
Joannie T. Yeh
Issue date: 9/4/06 Section: Pulse
If you were an Aztec shaman in 65 BC, you might be piercing your tongue and passing a rough cord back and forth through your temporary hole. If you were a UIC student in the year 2006 AD, you might be sitting in Taylor Street Tattoo & Body Piercing with your tongue stretched out in clamps held by Tim Gooding, the shop's piercer.
Contrary to the origin of most other types of body piercing, tongue piercing appears to be non-permanent in Aztec and Mayan culture. Illustrations suggest that priests and shamans would inflict pain through their pierced tongues to improve communication with spirits during religious rituals.
Permanent piercing of the tongue is a product of contemporary society. Around the same time high quality surgical steel was available to make the process safer, tongue piercing picked up momentum in the 1980s when body-piercing pioneers began promoting it. As the following case reports show, however, no one is completely safe from adverse effects during or even after the piercing.
Be careful what you ask for
According to a case reported by P.S. Fleming, MD, in the British Dental Journal, a 17-year old boy wanted a hole in his tongue. Unfortunately, the piercing became infected and, as the wound healed, the hole split to the tip of his tongue. When he stuck out his tongue, the two parts splayed further apart. After outpatient surgery under general anesthesia, the tongue healed in one piece without further complications.
Now you see it, now you don't
Pia Lopez-Jornet, a medical doctor and dentist in Spain, encountered a 28-year old male in 2004, who noticed two months after his tongue piercing that the upper ball of the inserted barbell was no longer visible. Tongue tissue heals very quickly due to its highly vascularized nature, enhancing its ability to absorb a constant supply of nutrients necessary for regeneration. Apparently, the surface of the tissue continued to grow above the ball, burying it among the muscles of the tongue. Through a quick, small incision with the patient under local anesthetic, Dr. Lopez-Jornet exposed the ball on the dorsal surface of the tongue and unscrewed it to remove the piercing as the patient requested.
Don't try this at home
In 2006, the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery reported that a 17-year old boy presented to the ER with a needle lost in his tongue. The boy had tried to pierce his tongue at home with a 6 cm sewing needle. The hole it made was too small to insert the barbell stud, so he decided to leave the needle in his tongue to see if the hole would dilate, cutting 2cm off the end of the needle so that he could close his mouth as he waited. Fifteen minutes later, however, his tongue had swollen and in doing so, swallowed up the needle. At the surgical center, the first attempt to extract the needle was unsuccessful. A larger incision between the genioglossus muscles allowed visualization of the needle; at which point, it was grasped and removed. As normal healing occurred, the boy reported that he had ordered a special tongue piercing needle to repeat the procedure.
Knock, knock, who's there?
Dental Traumatology reported in 2006 that an 18-year old female presented to the Emergency Department with sensitivity to cold drinks and with concern about her teeth chipping. In fact, upon examination the patient had multiple tooth fractures. The culprit was a steel barbell tongue stud, which the patient habitually knocked against her teeth and bit down on. The patient's teeth were treated with composite resin restorations with warning that further fractures could occur if the patient kept up her habit.
While most tongue-pierced folk do not sport a bifid tongue, lose their jewelry in their tongue, or try the piercing at home, many do develop tooth fractures. The incidence is so high, in fact, that it was cited as being the most common dental complication associated with tongue piercing by RJG De Moore, DDS/PhD, in 2000.
More immediate complications of tongue piercing include bleeding and massive swelling of the tongue that may block the airway and impede swallowing. And, as with any invasive procedure, there is a risk of developing an infection.
In order to avoid complications, Mr. Gooding requires a signed consent form from his body jewelry fanatics so that he knows how old they are and is aware of any medical conditions or allergies that might interfere with the procedure.
In addition, he offers his clients the following instructions: Rinse four to five times a day with alcohol-free, sodium-free mouthwash. Purchase and use a new toothbrush during the healing. Reduce swelling by taking over the counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen, and suck on ice chips. Stay away from hot or spicy foods and things that are complicated to chew. Avoid cigarettes and alcohol. Leave in the oversized entail bar, which accommodates for the swelling, and replace it with a shorter bar after three to four weeks.
As for those who would like to go the Do-It-Yourself route through eBay, which offers kits starting at $10, he has the following advice:
"Don't do it. The kit will send one 'sterile' needle, but who knows if that needle has not been contaminated in shipping and packaging. Then the inexperienced home piercer takes it out of the package, putting themselves at risk to countless other bacteria. Then he can become even more destructive by piercing his friends with the same needle. It's just a very bad idea."
Though dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons would agree that any oral piercing is a very bad idea, it does not stop many enthusiasts.
So, if you are considering a tongue piercing, be aware of the risks involved and be vigilant for signs of complications. If you are already at the mercy of Tim Gooding, then you would have been notified of any possible adverse effects and of the proper healing care. Do not skimp out on his or any piercer's instructions, unless you would also like to be at the mercy of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Contrary to the origin of most other types of body piercing, tongue piercing appears to be non-permanent in Aztec and Mayan culture. Illustrations suggest that priests and shamans would inflict pain through their pierced tongues to improve communication with spirits during religious rituals.
Permanent piercing of the tongue is a product of contemporary society. Around the same time high quality surgical steel was available to make the process safer, tongue piercing picked up momentum in the 1980s when body-piercing pioneers began promoting it. As the following case reports show, however, no one is completely safe from adverse effects during or even after the piercing.
Be careful what you ask for
According to a case reported by P.S. Fleming, MD, in the British Dental Journal, a 17-year old boy wanted a hole in his tongue. Unfortunately, the piercing became infected and, as the wound healed, the hole split to the tip of his tongue. When he stuck out his tongue, the two parts splayed further apart. After outpatient surgery under general anesthesia, the tongue healed in one piece without further complications.
Now you see it, now you don't
Pia Lopez-Jornet, a medical doctor and dentist in Spain, encountered a 28-year old male in 2004, who noticed two months after his tongue piercing that the upper ball of the inserted barbell was no longer visible. Tongue tissue heals very quickly due to its highly vascularized nature, enhancing its ability to absorb a constant supply of nutrients necessary for regeneration. Apparently, the surface of the tissue continued to grow above the ball, burying it among the muscles of the tongue. Through a quick, small incision with the patient under local anesthetic, Dr. Lopez-Jornet exposed the ball on the dorsal surface of the tongue and unscrewed it to remove the piercing as the patient requested.
Don't try this at home
In 2006, the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery reported that a 17-year old boy presented to the ER with a needle lost in his tongue. The boy had tried to pierce his tongue at home with a 6 cm sewing needle. The hole it made was too small to insert the barbell stud, so he decided to leave the needle in his tongue to see if the hole would dilate, cutting 2cm off the end of the needle so that he could close his mouth as he waited. Fifteen minutes later, however, his tongue had swollen and in doing so, swallowed up the needle. At the surgical center, the first attempt to extract the needle was unsuccessful. A larger incision between the genioglossus muscles allowed visualization of the needle; at which point, it was grasped and removed. As normal healing occurred, the boy reported that he had ordered a special tongue piercing needle to repeat the procedure.
Knock, knock, who's there?
Dental Traumatology reported in 2006 that an 18-year old female presented to the Emergency Department with sensitivity to cold drinks and with concern about her teeth chipping. In fact, upon examination the patient had multiple tooth fractures. The culprit was a steel barbell tongue stud, which the patient habitually knocked against her teeth and bit down on. The patient's teeth were treated with composite resin restorations with warning that further fractures could occur if the patient kept up her habit.
While most tongue-pierced folk do not sport a bifid tongue, lose their jewelry in their tongue, or try the piercing at home, many do develop tooth fractures. The incidence is so high, in fact, that it was cited as being the most common dental complication associated with tongue piercing by RJG De Moore, DDS/PhD, in 2000.
More immediate complications of tongue piercing include bleeding and massive swelling of the tongue that may block the airway and impede swallowing. And, as with any invasive procedure, there is a risk of developing an infection.
In order to avoid complications, Mr. Gooding requires a signed consent form from his body jewelry fanatics so that he knows how old they are and is aware of any medical conditions or allergies that might interfere with the procedure.
In addition, he offers his clients the following instructions: Rinse four to five times a day with alcohol-free, sodium-free mouthwash. Purchase and use a new toothbrush during the healing. Reduce swelling by taking over the counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen, and suck on ice chips. Stay away from hot or spicy foods and things that are complicated to chew. Avoid cigarettes and alcohol. Leave in the oversized entail bar, which accommodates for the swelling, and replace it with a shorter bar after three to four weeks.
As for those who would like to go the Do-It-Yourself route through eBay, which offers kits starting at $10, he has the following advice:
"Don't do it. The kit will send one 'sterile' needle, but who knows if that needle has not been contaminated in shipping and packaging. Then the inexperienced home piercer takes it out of the package, putting themselves at risk to countless other bacteria. Then he can become even more destructive by piercing his friends with the same needle. It's just a very bad idea."
Though dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons would agree that any oral piercing is a very bad idea, it does not stop many enthusiasts.
So, if you are considering a tongue piercing, be aware of the risks involved and be vigilant for signs of complications. If you are already at the mercy of Tim Gooding, then you would have been notified of any possible adverse effects and of the proper healing care. Do not skimp out on his or any piercer's instructions, unless you would also like to be at the mercy of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
tanya
posted 11/26/08 @ 3:43 AM CST
you need diagrams of the tongue and were you sapost to pierce it........................
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