With this study, we want to emphasize the risks and complications of oral piercing.
At the same time, we want to list the most diffused oral and perioral areas of piercing application and the reasons that lead the patient to undergo this procedure.
A selection of 20 patients with oral piercing aged between 14 and 27 years had an anamnestic examination to determine the onset of intraoperative and postoperative complications.
Then the patients had a clinical examination to determine the presence of late complications.
The 45% of patients had a lingual piercing; 35% had a middle inferior labial piercing; 10% had a left inferior labial piercing; 5% had a right superior labial piercing; 5% had a lingual piercing and a middle inferior labial piercing.
Nobody of the 20 patients reported intraoperative complications in the piercing application.
Although all the patients reported to have fulfilled the piercer?s indications, 90% of them reported postoperative complications such as bleeding and perilesional edema.
100% of patients had long-term complications:
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mucosal atrophy (70%)
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gingival recession (25%)
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dental abrasions (30%)
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enamel fractures (40%)
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dentine hypersensitivity (15%).
In the last years, oral piercing has particularly spread especially among young people. In most cases, piercing is made in tattoo centers or more rarely in jewelries, homes or dentist?s offices.
It has to be considered a real surgery and, as such, has to be performed only by trained staff in a sterile environment.
Postoperative complications can last even 2 weeks and include edema, pain and bleeding. To reduce their incidence, it is advisable to follow a liquid diet and a cryotherapy in the next days after surgery.
In almost all cases, there are long-term complications, such as phonation and mastication disorders, gingival recessions, enamel abrasions, dentine hypersensitivity, enamel fractures, mucosal atrophy, perilesional hyperplasia. We noticed a complete correspondence between the data of our study and the data in literature about the incidence of postoperative and late complications.
It is useful to underline that the body piercing is a real surgery e and, as such, requires a trained staff and the proper sterilization procedures of environment and equipment.
F. Inchingolo 1-4, A. Palladino1, M. Tatullo 2, M. Marrelli 4 , A.M. Inchingolo 3, R. Corelli 2, M. Serafini 2, R. Mingrone 4 ,V. Angelini 2, V. Piciariello 1, A.D. Inchingolo1, G. Dipalma1-4
1 Department of Odontostomatology and Surgery, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
2 Private Doctor in Dental Sciences
3 Department of Odontostomatology and Surgery, University of Milano, Milano, Italy
4 Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Calabrodental Srl, Crotone, Italy