There are always going to be some risks involved with the
tongue piercing but you can avoid complications by ensuring better aftercare.
Oral cavity is a home to millions of bacteria which can make things worse by
sticking with the jewelry. And then the wound, which comes as a result of
piercing, can also serve as the breeding ground for bacteria. From this point,
the infection can develop and worsen over time, leading to the serious oral and
overall health problems. Nevertheless, you can avoid infections with the help
of effective aftercare.
After tongue piercing
After tongue piercing, you have to make sure that your
tongue is on the way towards better recovery while bacteria are also kept away.
For this purpose, you can make it a habit of using antibacterial and
antimicrobial mouth rinses after tongue piercing. However, make sure that you
are not using mouth wash for more 4 – 5 times every day. Mouth needs to be
rinsed for 50 to 60 seconds. As an alternate option, you can mix one teaspoon
of iodine-free salt into a glass full of warm water. Use this water for rinsing
your mouth.
Toothbrush
After tongue piercing, the first thing that you will have to
replace is going to be the toothbrush. The reason is the same; i.e. you don’t
want to get infected by the bacteria that keep sticking with the old
toothbrush. Furthermore, you will need to clean your tongue well after tongue
piercing in order to keep it safe from bacteria. New toothbrush with soft
bristles can help you clean your tongue in the best way possible. Many of the
toothbrushes come with a tongue scrapper on the other side of the brush head. This
tongue scrapper can help you clean your entire tongue.
While eating foods, you have to make sure that you place
your food directly between the upper and lower molars. It should be done to
ensure prevention of interaction between food and the jewelry.
Normal healing
Normally, the healing time after tongue piercing is one
month. And there may be some symptoms which are pretty normal. You don’t have
to worry about them at all if you are following every caution as recommended.
After tongue piercing, tongue swelling remains there for not more than 4 to 5
days. Nevertheless, you can reduce this swelling by sucking on clean ice cubes.
Avoiding problems in
the future
Although there are some preventive techniques to ensure
safety from infections after tongue piercing, the tongue piercing itself is not
something that dentists or health physicians would recommend. Nevertheless, it
is a way of self-expression and people do it. Therefore, you have to make sure
that you visit your dentist regularly to ensure that tongue piercing would
start doing the damage.
