Tongue, Cheek & Lip Piercing Aftercare

Each body piercing has its own implications with relevance to you. Seek personal specific advice from an experienced & competent body piercer for personal needs.

1. To prevent the build up of bad bacteria around the piercing site, a gentle non-alcohol mouth rinse should be used twice daily.
2. The over use of mouthwash can be detrimental. Use only once in the morning & once in the evening.
3. To help prevent food getting lodged in the piercing the mouth should be rinsed with plain water or 0.9% saline solution after eating.
4. Avoid spicy foods, chilli etc., chewy foods can catch on the jewellery & crunchy foods can dig in. Smoking drinking spirits and kissing should also be postponed until piercing has healed.
5. Plaque & calcites can form on oral jewellery. These can be removed by gentle cleaning with a toothbrush. It is important to support the opposite end of the jewellery whilst you are doing this.
6. Soreness from swelling that may occur can be reduced by gently sucking on crushed ice.
7. It is common for tongues to swell for the first few days after piercing. A long bar at least 22mm long should be used to accomodate this swelling. When swelling has reduced usually in a week or so the long bar is replaced with one of appropriate length.
8. There are millions of bacteria in the average human mouth some good some bad. Usually these bacteria stay in balance. Over cleansing can upset this balance. The good bacteria die first allowing the bad ones to proliferate resulting in oral thrush etc. So aim to maintain a balance & do not over clean. Your own saliva has many antibacterial properties.
   Each time you French kiss over 6 million bacteria can be transferred, lots of them bad, so keep your tongue to yourself for the first few weeks or so.