Ask anyone with a tongue piercing and they will have a lot of positive experiences to share both about the piercing as well as its effect on their lives.

Tongue piercing is considered quite fashionable among the celebs and people like you and me. However, on the flip side, as with any body piercing, there are dangers of tongue piercing like the risk of infections, problems with speech, respiratory issues and broken teeth.

Here is what you should know about the dangers of tongue piercing. We all know that tongue piercing swelling is common. If it gets infected it could block the airways making it tough to breathe. Also, mouth bacteria can spread quite fast and lead to a fatal toxic shock syndrome and even blood poisoning.

Just in case your piercer does not take care to sterilize the piercing equipment there is a risk of catching an HIV and hepatitis infection. Once the piercing is done if the right jewelry is not fitted, it can come loose resulting in swallowing it. If it travels to the lung, you can imagine the panic. Some people tend to bite their tongue stud by mistake and this can lead to a broken tooth. Some people have had to go in for gum surgery. Jewelry material can also cause allergic reactions.

But relax. This is not to scare you off tongue piercings. The point is – it is always good to be aware of the dangers of tongue piercing before you get yours done. You are probably wondering whether you can avoid them. Of course you can!

First of all, check out your piercer to ensure that he or she is professional, experienced and licensed. Choose a high quality piercing studio. You also want to make sure the piercer has an “autoclave” and all equipment is sterilized and ask to see the needles and jewelry before you get your piercing done.

Non-sterile piercing needles and other equipment are the best way to catch an infection. Your piercer should also wear gloves. A good piercer will give you detailed aftercare instructions that you must follow to avoid the dangers of tongue piercing. Know about oral hygiene during the healing period because you must keep your mouth clean.

As you can see, all you need to do to avoid the dangers of tongue piercing is to take a few precautions and follow aftercare instructions – 99% of the time you will be just fine!

But anyway – even though it heals fast, there are a few tongue piercing aftercare tips you have to always abide by to make sure your fresh tongue piercing is not going to get infected. However, it’s worth pointing out that thanks to the natural mouth’s microclimate your fresh tongue piercing is very little likely to get infected at all!

These aftercare guidelines are universal for all kinds of the tongue piercing. Whether you have a simple vertical tongue piercing, horizontal tongue piercing or tongue web piercing the basic principles remain the same. The tongue piercing aftercare tips don’t involve treating the very piercing place with a cotton bud, for example.

As you can imagine, the mouth is constantly getting salivated and kept moist so it would be of a very little help to try to wipe the very tongue piercing’s place with a saline solution. It would be much easier just to take the cleaning solution in the mouth and rinse it, wouldn’t it?

Well…Yes! So this is the first tongue piercing aftercare recommendation.

Rinse your mouth a few times daily using saline solution or an alcohol free mouth wash. This way you’re going to facilitate the healing process and that’s the most important thing right after getting the swelling gone.

Do it after the meals and before going to bed to clean the food remains and other kind of microscopic plaque. And if you’re using mouth wash that contains some alcohol, dilute it making a ¼ solution.

The second tongue piercing aftercare tip – ease your tongue’s swelling by using plenty of cold drinks and chewing on ice during the first weeks after getting the tongue pierced.

Right after getting pierced your tongue will swell up and your first tongue ring should be longer than you’d wear normally. It’s going to be especially hard in the mornings. Having been lying down the whole night will cause the blood pump into your head more than during the day and the tongue therefore will get swollen following the piercing.

So drink cold water and suck ice cubes frequently during the first days after the piercing. And try not to eat or drink anything warm or spicy as such things will irritate the fresh tongue piercing.

The next important tongue piercing aftercare step is to change your first tongue ring you got inserted at the moment of piercing to shorter tongue body jewelry. It’s very important because you have to prevent any possible damage to the fresh piercing.

After around 10 days after getting pierced the tongue’s swelling will be gone and then you can insert a new, shorter tongue ring. I’d suggest you visit the piercing studio where you got it done and most likely your piercer is going to tell you that.

When the tongue is back to normal and you’re getting the final tongue ring, make sure the beads sit tightly on the surface of the tongue.

Every now and then check that the piece of tongue jewelry is sitting normally in the piercing and isn’t about to fall out. You know, sometimes the ball may become loose and you certainly don’t want to accidentally choke on it!

So wash your hands before touching the tongue ring and make sure the balls are screwed on securely.

But one tongue piercing aftercare advice can never be underestimated – don’t take the piercing out even when it’s well healed! Your tongue piercing is different to the other body piercings and will close up very quickly if left without body jewelry!

The only recordings of a ritual tongue piercing come from the ancient Aztecs, Mayas and some other North-American native tribes.

However, they didn’t perform the tongue piercing with a purpose of wearing some tongue jewelry in it. Their main goal was to let the blood split out as a sign of honoring the Gods.

But these days, apart from some crazy bod-mod guys who like cutting and scarring their bodies, tongue piercing is performed with a sole purpose of wearing tongue jewelry in it.

So let’s look at how many different tongue piercing types are known out there – and what tongue jewelry can be worn with every of those.

The first and the most common type of tongue piercing is a usual vertical tongue piercing. In this case the tongue is pierced through the middle from bottom to the top and a straight barbell is inserted into the fresh piercing. Right after the piercing the tongue will swell up so usually a longer barbell will be inserted into the piercing which can later be replaced by a shorter one.

Variations of the usual tongue piercing are multiple tongue piercings when a person wears more than just one tongue ring. A separate case of a multiple tongue piercing is a venom piercing or a double tongue piercing because it resembles the placement of a snake’s fangs.

So apart from tongue piercings that go from the bottom to the top of the tongue, what other options do we have when it comes to choosing the tongue jewelry placement?

Well, horizontal tongue piercing is another type of tongue piercing and it’s not that common. In this case the piece of body jewelry – a straight barbell most likely – will pierce the tongue through from the left side to the right side. And another variation of this piercing is a Scoop piercing – a vertical tongue piercing, only the ends of the jewelry will face upwards and the body jewelry used is going to be a hoop.

And lastly – there are folks who go for piercing the web under their tongue instead! This is called just what it is - tongue web piercing – and you can wear small captive bead rings, straight and curved barbells into these tongue piercings.