Hypoxia caused by body piercing

Midline diastema caused by tongue piercing.

becoming more and more common. In one study of college students seen at the Mayo Clinic, 10 of 218 males (4%) and 37 of 228 females (16%) had tongue piercings.1 About half of these students had allowed their tongue piercings to close over time. The study also found that 17% of all body piercings were associated with complications ranging from insignificant to life­threatening. Another study of ...

Complications of body piercing.

The trend of body piercing at sites other than the earlobe has grown in popularity in the past decade. The tongue, lips, nose, eyebrows, nipples, navel, and genitals may be pierced. Complications of body piercing include local and systemic infections, poor cosmesis, and foreign body rejection. Swelling and tooth fracture are common problems after tongue piercing. Minor infections, allergic cont...

Gingival recessions caused by lip piercing: case report.

Fear of losing the teeth is common among patients presenting with gingival recession. This report describes a case in which unusual gingival recessions were caused by lip piercing. Periodontal treatment involved removal of the causative agent, hygiene instruction, scaling and root planing, and coverage of the root with a subepithelial connective tissue graft. The therapeutic measures applied in...

Body piercing and tattooing perspectives.

This descriptive, correlational study surveyed 79 pierced and/or tattooed participants to determine reasons why people pierce and tattoo their bodies and to assess participants' knowledge of health risks involved in body alteration procedures. Participants queried represented a wide age range-between 19 and 55. Results showed that participants perceived few health risks involving piercing and t...

JAMA patient page. Body piercing.