If you’re thinking about getting a tongue piercing, you’re doing the right thing by first researching the pros and cons. Tongue piercings are hugely popular for a myriad of reasons…whether it’s for impact, appearance, or pleasure enhancement (to name just a few reasons). If you are considering getting a tongue piercing, including but not limited to tongue piercing, tongue web, or uvula piercing, there are several important factors to consider before getting pierced.

Before we delve into the universal risks, each piercing has its own set of aftercare and precautions to keep in mind. The most common oral piercing is of course the tongue piercing, which for a professional piercer is one of the easiest piercings to perform. It is usually done directly through the center of the tongue (although the tongue can be pierced in other places, but talk to your piercer first!) and the jewelry of choice is always a barbell. Barbell jewelry is worn because tongue piercings will swell for a couple of days to a week after the initial piercing, and the barbell can accommodate the swelling. After a period of 4 to 6 weeks, the jewelry can be replaced.

After a tongue piercing, no smoking, oral sex, or kissing is STRONGLY recommended. Proper cleaning must be done frequently, because the mouth is full of bacteria. Although saliva is the body’s natural way of fighting off harmful bacteria, with an open wound like a piercing, the chances of infection increase. With an open wound, such as a tongue piercing, the risk of transmitting diseases is also higher, including strains of hepatitis and HIV. Pay attention to the tips your piercer has given you to avoid serious and unhealthy situations!

The web of the tongue, formerly called the frenulum linguae, is located under the tongue. This is a piercing that is NOT applicable to everyone – some people do not have sufficiently pronounced tongue webbing to pierce! Many piercers refuse to get this piercing, not because of the extraordinary risks per se, but because most people either don’t clean their tongue web piercing often enough (leading to plaque buildup) or don’t they can keep the tongue on the roof of the mouth during the piercing. If you get this piercing, clean it regularly as it is an open wound in the mouth and therefore prone to infection. If the piercing is not deep enough, the body will “reject” or “push” the piercing, which is not particularly harmful, but unpleasant and should be avoided anyway.

The final piercing that is completely within the mouth is considered an extreme piercing and is still very rare (and some may argue completely impractical even by piercing standards). The uvula, known informally as the “hanging thing” or “punching bag,” located at the back of the throat next to the tonsils, can be pierced. Most piercers will not do this, although the procedure is simple. Many people do not have their gag reflex controlled enough to successfully carry out the piercing (imagine the dangers of gagging with a sharp needle in the mouth!), and the uvula is very active in piercing tissue, so Therefore, the possibility that the body will reject the piercing is very real. Rejected jewelry will almost definitely be swallowed, which can pose health risks.

This article is not to discourage you from getting a tongue, webbing, or uvula piercing, but it’s not wise to go into a piercing parlor (and side note: don’t even THINK about getting an oral piercing anywhere else other than a sterile professional piercing salon) to get an oral piercing on a whim. To prevent infection or rejection, consider your lifestyle: Do you smoke? This alone will definitely bother your new piercing and prolong the healing process. Do you have a fixed mouth, therefore are you prone to touching up and playing with your jewelry? Constantly playing with tongue piercings can cause irreversible damage to your teeth and gums. Are you going to have surgery soon? You will need to have the oral piercing removed – surgeons insist on this to avoid surgical complications – and by the time you come out of anesthesia, the piercing will be fully healed. Have you had your tongue pierced before and want to get it pierced again? Some piercers will refuse on the grounds that the scar tissue is too difficult to pierce. Listen to your intuition. If your gut tells you not to get a piercing in your mouth, don’t! If you get a piercing in your mouth, pay close attention to your body. If something is wrong, your body will let you know!