Oral

What To Expect

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For a tongue piercing there is usually swelling that starts within the first 3 hours and then continues for the entire time the piercing is healing. Most people experience swelling that can be pretty uncomfortable in the beginning, but its short lived and tolerable in most cases. The barbell that you got when your tongue is initially pierced is long to accommodate the swelling, but in some cases can be too short for extreme swelling. If the swelling gets to the point that the balls to the barbell are getting pulled into the tongue, come into Sub-q and we will change the barbell to a longer length, free of charge. If you did not purchase the piercing at Sub-Q, then we can sell you a longer barbell to accommodate the swelling. It's not very common to have a tongue piercing that doesn't swell, but it does happen. If your tongue doesn't swell, or if the swelling is short lived, keep the long barbell for at least a month.

If you change the barbell too soon and get an inflammation, the barbell balls could be pulled into your tongue and may have to be surgically removed. You should let the tongue maintain a solid level of healing before you change the barbell to a shorter length. In most cases the tongue swelling lasts only a few weeks, but sometimes can last for much longer times if you don't take proper care of the piercing. Follow the instructions that we give in this pamphlet and you should have little or no Problems.

Some people experience moderate to heavy discomfort during the initial swelling period. Over
the counter anti-inflammatory medications like Advil or Motrin or medications containing
lbuprofen can help the swelling and the soreness. If you take some about an hour before you eat it can usually help lessen the symptoms.

Eating can be a chore for some. Contrary to popular belief, you can eat pretty much anything that you would like, although some may experience difficulty because they aren't used to the piercing. Just slow down when you eat. Take your time. Initially you might not be able to eat as fast as you were before you got the piercing, but in time you will. The first 3 to 5 days are usually the worst for swelling.

Do's and Dont's

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It is very important that you follow other instructions than just the aftercare that we give you, The things that you do or don't do will make all the difference in the world to how your piercing will heal. If you don't follow these do's and don'ts your piercing will probably take longer to heal or may never heal due to prolonged infections.

Do:
Call Sub-Q if you have any questions. But If you're worried about your piercing, come In.
Follow the aftercare instructions that we have outlined.
Eat food on a regular basis. If you don't, your healing time could be prolonged.
Take lbuprofen based medications ff you feel too uncomfortable when you eat.
Chew gum if you want to. The saliva can help the healing process and the motion that your tongue makes while chewing, will exercise your tongue.
Take your time when you chew gum or eat. Biting down on a barbell is not only painful, but it can chip your teeth.
Brush your teeth on a regular basis. Not only is it common sense, but a clean mouth helps the healing process.

Don't:
Forget to follow the aftercare instructions that we have outlined.
Orally exchange body fluids with other people while your piercing is healing. Other people's body fluids contain things that are harmful to the healing process and cause infections, Inflammations, and sometimes diseases (yikes!). Overdo your intake of lbuprofen. Too much can cause stomach issues and even liver or kidney problems. The recommended dosage on the package is the amount you should take.
Forget to eat. Your immunities could be affected by not eating. If your immunities drop, your piercing could take longer to heal or you could more easily contract an Infection or disease.
Play with your piercing too much. Not with your mouth, but with your hands. Hands carry germs. Germs mean infection.

How to Take Care of an Oral Piercing

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The mouth is a pretty amazing place and takes pretty good care of itself. But most people need to pay close attention to what they do on a daily basis to keep from contracting infections. There are too many ways to list to take care of an oral piercing, but if you follow the simple steps that we recommend your piercing will usually heal between 6 and 12 weeks.

An oral piercing will usually take about 6 to 12 weeks to heal, And the care that we recommend is pretty simple. Get some mouthwash. We recommend Listerine and the favorites most people have are the cool mint or the fresh burst. The old Listerine is pretty harsh to the taste but it works too. Other mouthwashes work fine but you should never use mouthwash of any kind in full strength. Dilute the mouthwash with water in a ratio of 3 parts water to I part mouthwash. If you don't know how to do a 3 to 1 ratio, this lesson will help. Get a container that you can carry around with you. Water bottles like Arrow, or Crystal geyser, do great. Fill the water bottle three quarters full and fill the rest with the mouthwash that you like. That's a 3:1 ratio. If you don't dilute your mouthwash before you rinse, you will slowly destroy a helpful, natural layer on your tongue and in your mouth, called Lingual Antimicrobial Peptide. This layer is a natural defense in your mouth that naturally kills bacteria and other pathogens. If you destroy that layer, then you leave yourself susceptible to bacterial infections. Rinse your mouth with the solution for 30 to 45 seconds after you do anything orally. Rinse after you eat, after you drink anything but water, and if you smoke, after each cigarette. You can consume alcoholic beverages, but you should make sure to rinse after each full drink.

You can also use salty water. Take a coffee cup and fill it with fairly warm tap water. Add one half teaspoon of regular table salt to the water and stir it into solution. Rinse with the saltwater like you would with the mouthwash solution, for 30 to 45 seconds. Some find the saltwater to be soothing. If the salt burns the piercing, try using less salt or more water.

How to Know Your Piercing is Healed

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Keep in mind that each person is different for how they heal for each piercing one may get. And with different people there can be different indications for healing. What we give you for information is a general idea of what most people go through. You may not show the same types of indications written below. It's sometimes a bit difficult to know for sure if an oral piercing is healed. But if you pay attention to how the piercing looks and feels during the healing process, then you usually can tell fairly easily when the piercing is healed.

The Tongue Test

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The tongue usually starts swelling very soon after the piercing is performed. For the entire time that the tongue is healing, there is usually some swelling present, and you can use the swelling in the tongue as a factor to help determine the approximate time of healing. As the tongue is healing the swelling usually slowly disappears until finally it's gone or it's almost completely gone. During the healing process, occasionally stick the barbell out past your teeth so that the top ball is in front of the top teeth and the bottom ball is in front of the bottom teeth. Bring your teeth down, touching the tongue and pull the barbell back so that it touches the teeth snugly. Your !barbell should be tight against your teeth at this time, Lightly bite down on you tongue where the teeth are touching the barbell shaft and take a mental note of what the swelling feels like, Now move your teeth into different spots on your tongue and make the same mental note of what it feels like. There will be a distinct difference between the parts of the tongue that aren't pierced and next to the barbell shaft. Once the difference of swelling between the rest of the tongue and the part closest to the shaft is almost unnoticeable, then the tongue is healed or very close to being healed.

Tongue Web and Lip Web

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Usually the piercing will show no signs of irritation, redness, whiteness or swelling. The edges of the piercing will almost always look like the surrounding tissue and sometimes will pull away from the jewelry, leaving a hole that looks a bit larger than it started.

Your Rights

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At Sub-Q we believe that your rights as our customer and as a consumer are important. And since the services that we offer are a bit out of the norm, it's important that we define those rights.

We believe that all of our customers have the same types of rights as they would have at a typical retail establishment, but we want to take it the extra mile for our industry. Typically in the body piercing industry, some of the rights that you would have as a consumer would be eliminated. Most places that perform body piercing don't allow for things like 'trade-ins" forjewelry or refunds of any kind. Sub-Q offers both. And we go the extra step of putting it in writing. Our refund and return policies are simple and direct, Within the first 4 days, if you don't like your new piercing for any reason, simply return with the jewelry still in, and we'll refund your money, minus the cost of the aftercare products that we supplied.

Jewelry purchase is a bit different. If you purchase jewelry, have opened the package and wish to return it, we offer only 25% credit. Since we have to put the jewelry through a remanufacturing process, we can't offer a full price refund. But if the jewelry is still in its original, sterile packaging, we can refund your full purchase price. All refunds and trade-ins, are strictly at the discretion of Sub-Q employee's.

Your Responsibilities

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Your responsibilities, like your rights, are also direct and simple. The aftercare of your new piercing is strictly up to you. The closer that you follow the instructions that we give to care for your new piercing, the faster and more smoothly your piercing will heal. There are different ways to care for a piercing and many work well. Some ways may not work so well, and some may be outright bad. But from the experience of the staff at Sub-Q the aftercare instructions that we give work very well, It's also your responsibility to contact us for your needs. We want to help you in any way that we can, but we can't help you if you don't contact us. Even if you think it's trivial, your concern could be important. Please let us know how we can help you.