Oral piercings are common among a lot of members of the younger generations. They can be piercings of the lip, tongue, cheek, and into the more extreme tissues of the mouth from there. An infection in any one of these piercings can be very dangerous.

Since the mouth has different types of bacteria than the rest of the body does, it can cause a rapid infection to spread in your body and wind you up in the hospital.

Noticing the Signs of an Infection and Treating It Immediately

Infected oral piercings can range from just being a bit swollen to start, to having a lump, to having an oozing discharge of blood or pus. If you have a fever with any of these signs, you need to get into your dentist or doctor immediately as you could risk your own life if you do not immediately get that infection treated.

If you only have a small bit of swelling or a bump near the piercing, you may want to clean the area as if it were infected so that you can keep it from getting any worse. You can rinse with alcohol-free mouthwashes, ideally antiseptic to kill off bacteria.

You can also use a slight salt water rinse to help keep the area free of bacteria plus speed up healing. This should be done after every meal from the day you get your piercing until the day you take it out for good.

Oral piercings should be checked out by your dentist as soon as they can be handled. Plus, if you believe anything has gone wrong with the piercing or that it could be starting to show signs of infection, you need to go in. Don't take a chance with an oral piercing getting infected. It is simply not worth that risk.

Please contact us if you have any questions about an oral piercings effect on your oral health.