Oral Piercing

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Our team of dental specialists and staff strive to improve the overall health of our patients by focusing on preventing, diagnosing and treating conditions associated with your teeth and gums. Please use our dental library to learn more about dental problems and treatments available. If you have questions or need to schedule an appointment, contact us.




Oral piercing (usually on the tongue or around the lips) is one of the more disturbing fashion trends in recent years. Many people fail to realize that that even precautions taken during the installation of a piece of piercing jewelry are not enough to stave off harmful, long-term consequences such as cracked or chipped teeth, swelling, problems with swallowing and taste, and ugly scars. Add to this the possibility of choking on a piece of dislodged jewelry and one has to ask if the risks are warranted.

But the most serious long-term health problems from oral piercing come in the form of damage to the soft tissues such as the cheeks, gums and palate, as well as opportunistic infections. Any kind of body piercing may also put you at risk of contracting deadly infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

A common form of body piercing involves the tongue. Tongue piercings have been known to cause blocked airways (from a swollen tongue). In some cases, a tongue piercing will cause uncontrolled bleeding.

Some states actually regulate or ban oral piercing, so ensure that you are not breaking any laws.

Laser Use In Dentistry:

Most small cavities can be completed without numbing using a laser. The WaterlaseMD Laser can be used to numb the large majority of teeth by simply shining the low power laser light on the tooth. Then the laser can be used to get the cavity out of the tooth, or a regular dental drill can also be used. We have been using the laser in the office for 3 years now and nearly all the patients report the same when asked: "On a scale of 1-100, with 100 being very uncomfortable, how do you rate the laser just used?"

  • I didn't feel a thing, I rate it zero discomfort.

  • All I felt was some cold, maybe a two or a three.

  • I didn't feel a thing, this is great, no pain at all.

  • This is great, I really don't like being numbed up.

We have found that people do not like the feeling of being numb, and the laser is a great tool to get their small fillings done, pain-free without numbing.