Body Alteration

Tongue Piercings

The most common materials used for oral piercing are surgical stainless steel, titanium, acrylic, Blackline, Teflon, gold and wood.

HOWEVER the initial piercing will need to be pierced with titanium or surgical stainless steel.

For the initial Piercing, a straight barbell is normally used and range from gauge 10 to 14. A barbell is a metal shaft with a round ball on each end of the shaft.

Since the size of the barbell is important, make sure to ask your piercer what is right for you. Smartie beads as well as hollow barbells can be used as well so you can keep the weight of the jewellery low and reduce irritation. When you find a piece "migrates" or moves from its original location, you should talk with your piercer as your body is probably trying to reject the jewelry.

Different Forms of Tongue Piercing

The location of your piercing will depend on the shape of your tongue so find out what your option(s) are.

Ask about the veins in your tongue, the flap of skin under the tongue (called the frenulum), or ask about a tongue frenectomy, a procedure that cuts away part of the tissue under the tongue in order to accommodate the piercing.

See a piercer to find out if this is needed, and then consult an oral surgeon to see if you’re a suitable candidate for this procedure.

Location, Location, Location

The location of your piercing is important for what you are using it for, it needs to be in one place for Oral enhancement. Piercings closer to the tip of the tongue are useful to pleasure a woman while a piercing near the middle of the tongue will aid oral sex on a male:

Vertical - The bar goes vertically through the tongue so see what placement options you have, usually your piercer will place it within the first two-thirds of the tonuge.

Horizontal - This is a little risky but the piercing goes horizontally through the tongue. Expect more pain during the piercing, a longer heal time and make sure you use jewelery made out of flexible material. This piercing will require a experienced piercer, further, they will have to choose points that will cause the smallest amount of abrasion against teeth to reduce tooth damage over time.

Rim - Captive Bead Rings are used for the jewelry and the rim of the tongue is pierced, this type of pirecing can easily allow for multiple piercing.

T-bar - This pirecing may take several visits to get, three or more holes are needed and a custom piece of jewelry is required. Usually the jewelry will be in the shape of an X, a T or a ring/barbell combination. Only after all the piercings are made is the selected piece of jewelry put in..

Surface - In this type of piercing the insertion point will appear on the same plane as the exit point. It is important to know this type of piercing has a very high rejection and migration rate.

Orbital Ring - By having two vertical piercings you can use a ring in you tongue.

Procedure, Healing and After-care

To perform a tongue piercing the blood vessels in the tongue need to be located so the piercer can avoid them. To do this the piercer uses light to illuminate the tongue. The tongue is then clamped and pierced with a large needle, followed immediately by the insertion of a barbell. It is critical that you find a reputable piercer who will guide you through the exact process for your particular piercing.

Remember to limit the movement of the tongue while healing. Drinking cold water and suck on ice chips will also help. Finally rinsing the mouth with salt water or with Listerine (this may hurt so ask your piercer when you can start using this) for a full 30 seconds will help keep the piercing clean.

Risks

You may experience pain, swelling of the tongue, allergic reactions, altered eating habits, bleeding and impeded speech.

Other more severe damage includes: gingival trauma, loss of taste, nerve damage (causing permanent numbness), and airway compromise if you "in hail" loose jewellery.

If your Piercer does not take proper care of his gear, he can infect you with viral infections such as HIV, and Hepatitis B and C so make sure he cleans his gear properly or uses different needles for every person.

Final Thought

Before getting any pirecing you must take great care in picking your piercer. Think of it a surgery as it is more or a less a minor form of such. You need to look around for someone with a good reputation and then ask them some questions! Find out if he/she is a member of a reputable Association, and observe how professionally they conduct themselves. Make sure you meet who is going to do the work and then ask them questions and NEVER feel pressurized into acting there and then.