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by Daydreamer on June 6th, 2005

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How can I prevent my tongue stud from chipping my teeth?

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  • by Daydreamer on June 6th, 2005

    Daydreamer

    I've had my tongue pierced for about three years and in that time I've used quite a few styles of tongue bars. I started off with a steel barbell which I didn't like because although it didn't chip them, it kept hitting my teeth which I think is a horrible feeling! The problem was that stem length was too long for my tongue which makes it a lot more likely to knock against your teeth. So I tried a colourful PTFE barbell which doesn't harm your teeth as it's a softer, flexible material, some kind of tough plastic I think. This PTFE stud was doing great until I went to the dentist and he gasped as soon as opened my mouth! He explained to me that even though these type of studs don't harm your teeth like metal ones do, they don't show up on an X-ray. He said if the piercing were to come undone in my mouth and I were to accidently inhale it, because it doesn't show up on an X-ray it wouldn't be found in my lung and therefore would be very dangerous. I don't know much about this but I trust my dentist and changed it back to a metal one the same day!
    The one I have now is a titanium stud which is just the right stem length (14mm, not suitable for everyone) with a 6mm ball on the top and a 4mm ball underneath my tongue. I found that having a smaller ball on the bottom and the correct stem length, just long enough not to pinch my tongue, it doesn't hit against my teeth anymore. This works for me but might not work for everyone.
    To find the correct stem length to suit you, it may take a few attempts to buy the right size. Alternatively, you could go to a body piercing studio and ask them which size is suitable for you. The smaller the ball you attatch to the bar, the least likely it will chip your teeth. It usually feels very strange when you first put in a different sized tongue bar, so give it time to get used to it before deciding it's not for you.
    I've tried a "tongue tickler" which fits over the top of a regular barbell but are only meant to be temporary. They are made of silicone so like PTFE wouldn't damage your teeth but I would imagine they also wouldn't appear on an X-ray.
    I would suggest staying away from weirdly shaped studs such as "spaceships" which have a regular ball with (usually) six smaller balls attached around the middle to give it the UFO style appearance. It's obvious to me that the more metal there is resting on your tongue, the more chances there are of your teeth being chipped while eating or talking.
    Another way to prevent chipping is to use a flat ended tongue bar which lies completely flat on each side of your tongue. I haven't used one of these because it seems slightly hidden and I prefer mine to be a bit more on show! :-) I would imagine that because this type of bar isn't sticking up off your tongue it is unlikely to hit your teeth as much, if at all. I've seen a wide range of colours and styles, including smiley faces and writing like "kiss me".
    There may be more ways of preventing damage to your teeth but I've written this from my experience with tongue piercings and these are the only ones I can think of! :-)

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