Oral and body piercings – are there any complications?

Introduction
Body piercing is a modification, which is very popular, especially among young people. It is a form of puncturing the tissues and placing jewelry in created openings. Commonly pierced parts of body are nose, navel, tongue, lips, eyebrow, nipples, and genitals.

Objectives
The aim of this paper was to describe the possible body areas that can be pierced and to check which of them are the most common. Also we would like to show the spectrum of complications that can occur after such procedures especially in the group of people with oral piercings.

Material and methods
We examined two hundred people with piercing in the area other than earlobe, who agreed to complete anonymous questionnaire. All people were Polish nationals, aged between 18 and 40 years. Participation in the study was voluntary. The questionnaire contained questions regarding age, gender, place of origin, number of ornaments, their placement, and the occurrence of complications (early and late) after body piercing procedures.

Results
The most frequently pierced part of the body was the ear (81.5%). Wound healing and redness were the most common problems associated with piercing. Among people with oral piercing, the most frequent complications occurred in the lip, and included swallowing of ornament, hypersensitivity, abrasion, and chipped teeth as well as gingival recessions.

Conclusions
Swallowing of the jewelry is the most common complication caused by oral piercing. The ear is the most frequently pierced area and it is exposed to the most of complications. Piercing procedures are not safe for health and doctors should inform all patients with piercings about possible complications.