Oral Piercings Aftercare
Congratulations on getting your new piercing and we hope you enjoy it for years. The time required foryour piercing to heal completely varies, in most cases jewelry must be left in for at least the first 3 months.Your piercing might look healed before this time but it’s important to be patient and wait the entire healingperiod before changing your jewelry out or ceasing your aftercare routine. If your piercing must come outsooner for medical reasons, often we can help you with this process so that you don’t lose your piercing.
If proper cleaning is done your risk of infection is greatly reduced. The most common problems are:
· Not having the piercing done in a sterile environment.· Dirty hands or saliva touching it before it is healed.
· Using a cleaning agent that can damage your piercing.· Wearing inferior quality jewelry or metals.· Proper cleaning not being performed daily.· “Playing” with jewelry before piercing is healed.
If you have any problem with healing we will be happy to help. We understand that since opening up in Benidorm in 2002, people see us as the experts. So we will help with piercings that we didn’t perform,however, understand we can only make suggestions, we are not physicians. A physician must be contactedas soon as possible if a problem persists.
Cleaning Solutions
An alcohol-free antimicrobial or antibacterial mouth rinse should be used according to packageinstructions. Two examples are Alchol-Free Listerine and Biotene. These may be available in the oralmedications section of your local drugstores.Also: Mild sea salt water rinses. Dissolve a pinch (1/4 teaspoon) non-iodized (iodine-free) sea salt to onecup (8 oz.) warm to hot distilled or bottled water. (Avoid hot water for the first few days.) If you have highblood pressure or heart problems, you will need to eliminate the sea salt, and use only plain warm waterrinses.Rinse mouth for 30-60 seconds with solution (see Cleaning Solutions above) after meals during theentire minimum initial healing time. Do not use more than 4-5 times daily and use it over intervals spacedthroughout the entire day.Rinse mouth briefly (10-15 seconds) with the mild sea salt mixture (see recipe above) no more thantwice a day. If you are cleaning too often, the top of your tongue will start to turn a white to yellowishcolor. Continue to clean your piercing, but reduce the number of times you are cleaning it per day.
What To Do
Check twice daily with clean hands to be sure the threaded ends on your jewelry are on tight. To cleanhands, wash them carefully with liquid antibacterial soap. If your hands aren’t freshly washed, don’t touchyourself above the neck during the initial healing time.Replace your toothbrush and make sure to keep it clean so that everything that goes into your mouth ishygienic while you are healing. A sensitive type of toothpaste may be less irritating to your mouth duringhealing than a usual, stronger variety.Try to go slowly when you eat and to take small bites when your piercing is new. Cold foods andbeverages feel great and can help diminish swelling. Drink plenty of liquids, especially bottled water.Get enough sleep and eat a nutritious diet. The healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for yourpiercing to heal.
What To Avoid
No oral sexual contact including French (wet) kissing or oral sex during the entire initial healing period,even if you are in a monogamous relationship. (If you had a large cut you would not allow anyone to spitinto it! This is essentially the same thing.)Avoid chewing on gum, tobacco, fingernails, pencils, sunglasses, etc., during healing. Don’t share plates,cups or eating utensils. Reducing smoking or quitting is highly advisable when healing an oral piercing.Smoking increases risks and can lengthen the healing time. Avoid undue stress and recreational drug usage.Stay away from aspirin, large amounts of caffeine, and alcoholic beverages for the first several days.Alcoholic beverages include all beer, wine and hard liquor. These can cause additional swelling, bleedingand discomfort. Refrain from eating spicy, salty, acidic, or hot temperature foods and beverages for a fewdays.
Do not play with the piercing for the initial healing time beyond the necessary movement for speakingand eating. The mouth withstands a lot of trauma from normal speaking and eating. Try to avoid otherdisturbances such as excessive talking, actively playing with the jewelry, or clicking the jewelry againstyour teeth. Undue stress on the piercing can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue,migration and other complications.Even after healing, excessive play with oral jewelry can result in permanent damage to teeth,gums, and oral structures. Metal is harder than the human body; be gentle.
Cleaning Instructions
Rinse mouth for 30-60 seconds with solution, after meals during the entire minimum initial healing time.Do not use more than 4-5 times daily and use it over intervals spaced throughout the entire day. Rinsemouth briefly (10-15 seconds) with the mild sea salt mixture, no more than twice a day. If you are cleaningtoo often, the top of your tongue will start to turn a white to yellowish color. Continue to clean yourpiercing, but reduce the number of times you are cleaning it per day.
A new soft bristled toothbrush should be purchased, to help reduce the bacteria.
Tips For Oral Piercings
Some piercees will carry a spare ball in their wallet or purse. This is particularly advisable if you wearnon-metallic balls such as acrylic, which is more fragile.Try to focus on keeping your tongue level in your mouth to avoid biting on the jewelry as you eat. Yourmouth is likely to feel uncoordinated at first.Try eating small bites of solid foods by placing food directly onto the molars with clean fingers or a fork.Food that is already in the back of the mouth doesn’t have to get moved there by your tongue.Be cautious about opening your mouth wide when you eat, as this can result in the backing of the jewelrycatching on your teeth. Take small bites and go slowly at first.The outside of the piercing may become somewhat red or pink during healing and this is normal.Refer to the Aftercare Guidelines for Body and Facial Piercings sheet for instructions on how to care forthe exterior surface of such a piercing.
What To Expect?
Swelling of the area is perfectly normal during the first part of healing an oral piercing. It can be greatlyreduced by gently sucking (rather than chewing) on clean ice. Chipped ice, or small cubes are best. Themajority of the swelling usually lasts for only 3-5 days.Any new piercing can bleed for a few days. There can also be some bleeding under the surface resultingin temporary bruising or discoloration. This is perfectly normal and not indicative of any complication.Some tenderness or discomfort in the area of a new piercing is not unusual. You may feel aching,pinching, tightness or other unpleasant sensations off and on for several days or longer.Don’t be alarmed if you see a fairly liquid, yellowish secretion coming from the piercing. This is bloodplasma, lymph and dead cells which is perfectly normal. All healing piercings secrete, it just looks differentinside the mouth as it doesn’t have a chance to dry and form a crust as it does on ear or body piercings.This is not pus, but indicates a healing piercing.Plaque may form on tongue jewelry, commonly on the bottom ball and/or post. Scrub your barbell with asoft bristled toothbrush.Piercings may have a tendency to have a series of ups and downs during healing by seeming healed andthen regressing. Try to be patient, and do keep cleaning during the entire initial healing time, even if thepiercing seems healed sooner.Once initial swelling is down, having your piercer replace the post portion of bar style jewelry with ashorter post may be wise. Jewelry which fits more closely is less likely to irritate your mouth or getbetween your teeth and be bitten.If you like your piercing, leave jewelry in at all times. Even healed piercings can shrink or close inminutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person, and even if your ear lobepiercings stay open without jewelry your oral piercing may not!
Keep following the care procedures during the entire minimum initial healing time, even if the piercingseems healed sooner.