I don't know if there's already a thread on this topic, I didn't see one, but... Anyhow, I'm kicking around the idea of getting my tongue pierced when I turn 18. I've heard both good and bad things about tongue piercing. Is it easily infected? Unhealthy? Painful? In my opinion the mouth doesn't seem like a very good or stable environment for a piercing. And it seems like it would hurt a lot (however, I've heard the swelling for 2 weeks after hurts more than the actual piercing). And is there the possiblity of nerve damage? Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm going to do some research on this before I make a decision, but I just thought I'd see about some first-hand experience.
I wouldnt say it is all that painful. You will feel it of course. The swelling can be a little bit of a pain in the ass. I couldnt talk right and I had to eat ice and rinse with listerine all day....but it healed nicely. The swelling wasnt painful. But then I was popping xanax all day so I might have had an advantage Unhealthy? I wouldnt think so. I have never heard any reasons for it to be unhealthy, although I have heard somewhere that the ring can chip your teeth. The only problem I had was that I loved to play with it...I would do it without thinking and I would scrape it up against the inside of my gum and eventually it began to wear my gum down a little. I couldnt quit the habit, I did it all the time and didnt even realize so I just took it out. I miss it, but my gums are more important. But if you do get one my advice would be to go to someone who knows what they are doing. When I got mine I went to this big fat biker dude at this biker tat place and he did it wrong and the piercing wasnt straight and it was hitting on my teeth and I had to go get it redone by someone else. I went to get my money back from the first guy and he wouldnt give it to me and argued that he did it right and that I didnt know my shit even though the guy that redid it called the first guy a butcher and couldnt believe how bad he pierced me. So in an effort to gain revenge (imature I know) and cause the guy wouldnt give my money back I filled out maybe 50 magazine subscribtions with "bill me later" to his tat shop. I hope he got them....hehe.
I had mine done like ten years ago, but I don't remember it hurting too badly, either. They clamp your tongue down pretty tightly, which hurts, but the needle didn't. The only care for it is listerine (plain,not minty). Rinse after every meal, cigarette, kiss, anything. It does swell a bit at first, you sound silly and it is a pain in the ass to eat, but it doesn't last long. Once it healed, I could take it out for a few days at a time, my dad HATED to see it, so I had to take it out at home. But, the tongue heals pretty quickly so don't leave it out for TOO long at a time. I never had any problems with mine.
