Pierce At Your Own Risk!
Historically, body piercing and tattooing have existed in many cultures as a rite of passage, an expression of tribal practices, religion, caste or sexual norms. Today they are more likely an expression of freedom, fashion statement or just an act of defiance.
The undeniable rise in the incidence of oral and perioral piercing has now taken a front seat in cult fashion and has lead to an increase in the oral health care workers to encounter such patients with the perpetual complications associated with these. Thought to be trendy, oral piercing, can be done virtually in any part of the oral / perioral area which include lips, tongue, frenum, uvula, cheeks, nasal septum and the nares. The typical forms of oral jewelry include studs, rings, hooks & barbells. Most of the time they are made out of metal but these can also be made of plastic, wood or ivory. The recommended materials should be strictly restricted to nontoxic metals such as gold, titanium or surgical stainless steel.
The most common notion, a very false one at that, carried by these individuals is that like the other commonly pierced body parts (ear lobe, belly button, etc.), the oral region is also safe and devoid of complications. This is most definitely not the case because the range of functional activities like: chewing, swallowing, speech, etc. require complex coordinated muscular movements and are only impaired or complicated by the presence of such foreign structures. Hygiene is another factor. In the presence of these, the oral hygiene is almost completely compromised unless great care and attention is exercised, which is seldom the case. Apart from these the wide range of complications associated may be categorized into immediate non-life threatening complications and potentially life threatening ones. The potentially threatening complications include infections with communicable diseases (HIV, Hepatitis-B, syphilis, tetanus etc.), severe persistent bleeding, airway obstruction, aspiration of the jewelry into the lungs, and difficulty in swallowing or breathing. Because of the great risk involved, it is an absolute must to ascertain the safety norms practiced at the place where these are done i.e., to steer clear of shady tattoo parlors, insist on the use of disposables and make sure of the sterilization procedures practiced. The most common non-life threatening complications is the fracture of teeth and associated restoration, local infections, pain and swelling, soft tissue damage, impaired speech and mastication.
Another common and popular fashion trend is getting a tattooed or painted tooth. Tattooing on the tooth is not the same procedure as tattooing on skin. It is a lot less painful but the procedure involves grinding a healthy tooth and bonding a perfectly painted ceramic laminate veneer onto the tooth. Unfortunately the overall effect is a pit fall. Though the craftsmanship and the artistry on the laminate can be appreciated up close, from a distant it just appears like an unmanaged rotten tooth. As many would like to assume that, to appear cool, the price to pay is to endure the pain of a prick! Think again because that pricking pain could just be the beginning!
Dr. Murali Srinivasan, MDS.
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