How long does tongue healing take? Get insights on tongue piercing healing, stages, time, and process as well other relevant tips.
tongue piercing healing time
Tongue Piercing Healing Stages
The tongue piercing healing process has the initial swelling, tongue irritation as well as soreness. After the process of piercing, the tongue may begin to swell and usually reach a double its original size. The swelling may subside in about a couple of days, but speaking, drinking and eating are generally painful at this time.
For a few months after receiving of the piercing, a person may have tongue irritation as well as soreness. One advantage that arises in getting such a piercing is that the tongue piercings may heal quickly for most of the people, but this may also not be an advantage if a person occasionally forgets to wear the piercing.
Majority of the tongue swelling is part and parcel of the tongue piercing healing process, but it may also be frustrating, uncomfortable, and alarming when trying to do everyday duties like talk or eat. Most people have difficulty talking, with some people choosing to speak too little or not at all during the first few days.
Taking anti-inflammatory medication and drinking a very cold beverage can at times be considerably reduce the swelling. In the rare cases, especially if your tongue piercing was botched in some other way, the tongue may also swell enough to cause difficulty breathing and the person must get medical help immediately.
Eating or drinking must be performed with care to minimize the chances of stretching a hole or even getting any infection, both of which must extend the tongue piercing and healing process. It is also recommended that the pierced person to clean his or her mouth after each and every meal and also beverage that is not pure water.
For instance, if the pierced person takes a soda beverage, he or she must rinse the mouth using salty water or whatever any cleaning solution is recommended by the piercer.
It takes almost six months to fully ensure completion of the tongue piercing healing process, but many people may stop to experience irritation or pain within half the time. The tongue sometimes heals relatively quickly, so by leaving the tongue jewelry out of the piercing is mostly discouraged.
For some other people, a completely healed tongue piecing may close in about a few hours to so many days. Other persons report of being able to leave the tongue jewelry out for many years without having even a partial infection or closure.
Besides having an infected tongue piercing or even having difficulty in breathing, there are very rare, but also significant, risks that are present when getting a tongue piercing. The person can also have dental problems if at all the piercing is placed too close to the edge of the tongue.
Nerve damage on the tongue is also a possibility if the piercing is done by an inexperienced or even a careless piercer. Tongue jewelry may also come being loose in the mouth and thus pose a choking hazard.
How to Care for Tongue Piercing
tongue piercing healing
After the tongue piercing you must always want it to get it healed quickly as the tongue affects so several aspects of the life as well as fancy jewelries may only be done only after the piercing has completely healed. So ensure to reduce that healing time and also follow the instructions as below:
- Reduce the Swelling
To alleviate the swelling on the tongue, then you are required to take lots of cold water throughout the day. Also ensure that you put some small ice slivers inside the mouth and thus allowing them to melt. Don’t suck on them by any chance, but make them to melt on their own.
- Clean Your Piercing
You are required to maintain a good oral hygiene after a tongue piercing.
- Rinse your mouth 5-6 times a day, especially after taking of the meals or before bed, using an anti-bacterial mouthwash that is alcohol free as well as fluoride free.
- Always clean the pinned piercing by dabbing it through the use of sea salt to about 2 times a day and also wash it using an anti-bacterial soap.
- Always wash the hands before any touch to the piercing; but, you shouldn’t just touch it except for a cleaning.
- After the washing, pat the piercing dry using clean and disposable clean paper towels rather than use of cloth towels.
- Tighten the Barbell Balls
The balls that are found on the barbells can also get loosened or even unscrewed over a longer period of time. You should also check regularly and ensure to keep them very tightened all the time so as to shorten the tongue piercing healing period. Always ensure to hold the bottom ball when you are twisting the topmost ball especially in the clockwise direction so as to tighten them and loosen them only by twisting them in the anti-clockwise direction.
- Change the Jewelry
After experiencing the swelling on the tongue has been minimized, visit the piercer to get the jewelry to be replaced using a shorter barbell. You can also choose from the several designs as well as styles of beads that are found in the market after which the pierce will be healed. However, apply extreme caution if especially you are very allergic or even sensitive to various metals or many materials that makes the jewelry.
- Brush the Teeth Properly
You are required to obtain a soft bristled toothbrush every time so as to brush the teeth after the piercing. It is advisable that you only brush the front teeth especially for the first week of the tongue healing process. From the second week and subsequently, you can then progress slowly by slowly to brush the back teeth and the tongue. Remember that you need to brush the teeth at least thrice a day to avoid any bacterial infections as well as any food particles from lodging in the mouth. Also, brush the jewelry to prevent plaque buildup.
- Rinse with Mouthwashes
- You are also required to rinse the mouth using a medical grade mouthwash for about 60 seconds after each and every meal for a period of at least 5-6 weeks especially after a tongue piercing.
- Alternatively, you may also use the regular oral rinse by diluting it with half a cup of water. This may otherwise dilute the antiseptic in that it would not irritate the piercing.
- Also clean the piercing, but ensure not to overdo it, as it may delay the tongue piercing healing process as well as increase the tongue piercing healing time.
- Gargle with Sea Salt Water
Along with an oral rinse especially after meals, using of sea salt soaks would also assist heal the tongue piercings. Add a quarter teaspoon of sea salt in a single cup of water and ensure to stir it until it dissolves completely. Rinse the mouth with it especially after smoking or drinking anything except pure water for 20 seconds.
Tongue Piercing Healing Process
tongue piercing healig stages
After you get the tongue pierced, it usually takes a period of about 10 to 14 days to heal. These are amongst one of the fastest body healing piercings, as the enzymes found in the saliva assists to fight infection and probably kill the bacteria.
You may require to apply the use of a perfect mouthwash to help in cleaning of the mouth, but you can also easily over clean the mouth with the mouthwash, which may lead to the tongue to turn the color to green or brown.
If this occurs, then just minimize the amount of mouthwash that you use and how often you apply the use of it.
Some of the common process that is followed include;
- Visit a reliable and a certified piercing studio. It may look like a very good idea to pierce yourself, but if you pierce the tongue in a wrong place it can result to tongue and skin deformities. Thus needles and the jewelry requires that they be sterilized correctly before it pierces anywhere near the mouth
- Though the piercer will explain to you on how care for the piercings, it is crucial to remember that the piercings may often develop some other infections, and resulting to serious problems, so be diligent
- After getting the tongue pierced, it can swell up to about twice its normal size. Don’t worry, this is very normal. Swelling will start reducing in three or five days and get rid of completely in about 7 to 8.
- The tongue is may be fully healed after about six to around eight weeks. Rinse the tongue and mouth regularly using salt water to prevent any infection. During this period of time avoid play with or touching the tongue, and always rinse the tongue if this occurs accidentally or after eating any food
- You only take eat mashed food and soups etc. for the first about 3 to 5 days, After this eating solid foods should be not be having any problem, but be sure to rinse the mouth after eating anything
- After the swelling subsides, then you can cut back on the mouth rinsing, although due to the fact that food may be lodged in the piercing, thus rinsing after taking any food that may get lodged including breads, stringy meats, etc. is a perfect idea. Once it is completely healed then normal oral care (brushing teeth and mouthwash) is sufficient
Oral tips
- Because it is very hard and not advisable to eat usually after getting a piercing, try drinking other dietary supplement drinks as they have enough amount of protein, etc. Remember that you still have to eat the soups including mashed foods together with this.
- The piercer may often pierce the tongue using a longer bar of jewelry which is required to allow for some form of swelling. After the swelling has gone down then you may require to get a shorter bar. Shorter bars as well as plastic balls are safer for the teeth.
- Eating of cold foods, such as ice cream and cold drinks might assist in reducing swelling.
- Buy a smaller bottle of Chloraseptic or any other similar numbing sore throat spray. Get rid of about 3/4 of the liquid and fill completely with mouth wash. If you’re out and cannot be able to rinse using a mouth wash, then you can spray this on the top and the bottom of the piercing, it also has the side effect of numbing the new piercing which you’ll may to appreciate.
- Carry a small sized bottle of a salty water with you in the pocket or purse so that you can be able to rinse the mouth promptly, if you need to while you’re out and about.
- Try to avoiding biting on the piercing whilst eating.
- Try to avoid any hot food and drinks but warm is allowed while the piercing is healing as it can result to extra swelling.
- Smoking is very harmful to the new oral piercing, especially during the initial healing phase. Avoid any smoking during the entire tongue piercing healing phase.
Tongue Piercing Healing Time
tongue piercing healing pictures
Tongue piercing is nowadays becoming popular, as most people try to discover new options for body beauty and art. If the process is done in a very clean environment by a professional piercer, tongue piercing is known to be less painful as compared to other piercings.
The piercing is mostly carried out at the center of the tongue by clamping it using forceps and even passing a small needle from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top, either in a straight up or at a very slight angle. The small barbells that have attractive beads can also be very appealing.
And after an appropriate amount of tongue piercing healing time, you can try to add other fancy jewelry to your piercing.
Once you have the tongue worked on, it could swell up and the swelling could last for about 2 weeks before going down gradually. Though this is one of the fastest body piercings to heal, it may still take about 4 weeks before the tongue is completely healed.
You could have some pain, irritation or even tenderness in the tongue after the piercing process. Some whitish discharge, bleeding or bruising may also happen that may gradually minimize within a period of 4-5 days. Sometimes it can be slightly difficulty in speaking as is noticed after the tongue piercings.
The perfect way to avoid this problems is to ignore any foreign object that are lodged in the tongue and avoid hitting, clicking and touching the object while speaking.
Tongue Piercing Healing Tips
Normally, a tongue piercing is done along the midline of the tongue especially in the center of the mouth. It is often approximated to about 76 inches (1.9 cm) from the extreme tip of the tongue. It is placed as such that it allows the top of the jewelry to lean a bit back, away from the persons teeth.
It is also normally placed just in front of the attachment close to lingual frenulum which is a piercing that passes through the frenulum below the tongue, known as the frenulum linguae.
The tongue pierces are not as painful as other body parts pierces. This particular oral piercing is a very quick pinch, it hurts a little than the biting of the tongue. It is the tongue piercing healing process that is too painful. The tongue is going to swell to about double its normal size and thus eating of the solid food comfortably may be a problem.
The first presence of barbell in mouth may look uncomfortable but when the tongue resumes to its normal size and the barbell is thus changed, you’ll get used to it and forget that it is there. After about 4 to 6 days the tongue may start to feel better, the tongue heals very fast.
Such tongue piercing may lead to some other side effects if it is not well taken care of. It may lead to several dental and gum issues. It may also chip the teeth and mess with the gum. It also increases the frequency to brush for hygiene purposes. A pierced person should make sure that the equipment applied are completely sterile else it might lead to HIV infection.
The inability to swallow or in extreme cases, breathing problems due to severe swelling of the tongue, paralysis of the tongue muscle, a spreading tingling feeling, numbness as well as an infection are other demerits.
In most cases it is seen that the risk of infection may not truly goes away, as there have been some other cases of a long-term wearer who has had to get rid of the piercing due to a delayed infection. Another more common risk is the ingestion of dislodged jewelry. Should the piercing come loose, it may be swallowed
Further references;
- Tongue Piercing Healing Time: http://www.newhealthadvisor.com/Tongue-Piercing-Healing-Time.html
- What is the normal healing process for a tongue ring?: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100509103151AAkExLq
