What happens when you bite down on a tongue ring

Recently we had a young woman coming through our office for a checkup. As I took a preliminary look around, this is what I saw. “I’m sorry to inform you, but you have a chipped tooth.” I was surprised by her response. She informed me that at one time she had a tongue ring, and as a result, she had chipped her tooth. She verbalized that for that very reason, she stopped wearing her tongue ring.  Press here to see photos of tongue rings.

Tongue ring injuries : Unfortunately this was not the first time I had seen this.

The very first time I saw this was on a fashionable young lady. The story she told me was that when she had the tongue ring placed, they gave her an extra long tongue ring, or barbell. The idea being that when the tongue ring is placed, the tongue swells up, thus the need for the extra length. The extra long tongue ring is to be replaced with a shorter one when the swelling subsides.
As time progressed the swelling subsided, but she never got around to changing the tongue ring to a shorter size. Unfortunately while chewing, the tongue ring got caught it the middle of an upper and lower tooth and the tooth shattered.
I have also seen situations where cheek piercings have the potential of causing the same damage. Nobody wants a cracked tooth. The Button or tab that is on the inside of the mouth can be situated really close to the teeth.  The chances of biting down on the tab are probably very low, but the consequences can be damaging and permanent.

“I am who I am today because of the mistakes I made yesterday.”
― The Prolific Penman

We at Seasons of Smiles Dental love healthy, happy teeth.  If you have any questions, please call.