I can't quite remember whom or what exactly turned me on to body modification at the age of 14, but back then I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. At that time I wanted to get my lip, eyebrow, and navel pierced. Luckily, I have a slightly strict Mother who told me I'd have to wait until I turned 18 before getting pierced. But eventually she changed her mind and decided I could get my tongue pierced for my 16th birthday. The main reason she agreed to it was because it was a not-so noticeable piercing.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Six months ago Artist don't remember. Studio Alter Ego Location Wisconsin It's the one piercing I don't remember consciously having wanted and certainly one I never dreamt I'd end up getting so soon. I'd seen them on other people, of course - after all, it's one of the most common piercings these days. Somehow, I supposed that over a period of time, I too would have a shiny, metal, object hiding inside of my mouth.
I conned my Mother into driving me to the Alter Ego Body Piercing and Tattoo shop in Kewaskum, Wisconsin on March 22nd, 2002. I had called made an appointment with the piercer the day before over the phone. Once we arrived in Kewaskum, we drove around and searched for the shop. Since we had never been there before, it took a couple minutes to find. But at last we had found it. I was nervous at first but when I walked in, right away I knew the place was clean. It smelled clean and there wasn't a spot of dirt tracked in from the door. I was greeted by the tattoo artist, who asked me what my name is and what I was there for. He then introduced me to the lady that would be piercing me, unfortunately I had forgotten her name. She politely asked for our I.D.s to make sure we were in-fact related and that I was eligible to get pierced. A policy paper was handed to my Mother and I to read and then sign.
First, I rinsed my mouth with Listerine for 30 seconds in the bathroom, then I was instructed to rinse my mouth out with peroxide. With latex gloves, the piercer took a look at both the top and bottom of my tongue to decide placement. Since we were doing a center piercing, close attention was paid to the underside of the tongue to examine where the veins were as well as the length of the webbing.
She dipped a toothpick in violet ink and then marked my tongue where she would be piercing (disposed of after each piercee). She then handed me a mirror and asked me if I agreed with the placement. At this point, I verified that I agreed with the placement. After that, she gave me a napkin to hold on under my mouth to prevent me from drooling and/or bleeding on myself. She changed her gloves and took a few seconds placing and positioning the forceps around the marks. With a 14ga needle, she pierced from the top down. After removing the forceps, she aligned the end of the barbell with the needle and slipped it right through. She pulled out the needle and threw it away. All that was left was the last ball. Once the 3/4 inch bar was inserted and the balls tightly internally screwed in, I again rinsed with Listerine and all was done.
For the aftercare, she explained to rinse with 50% water and 50% Listerine in the morning, night, after eating, after smoking, etc. for the first two weeks. I cannot say for sure if it was because of this aftercare, but my tongue swelled up to twice its normal size and was like that for about two weeks. I could only eat soft foods for the first five days. Luckily, it healed fine after two weeks. And now, about six months later, I have stretched it, slowly but surely, to a 10 gauge.
Since the initial healing the piercing has been pretty low-maintenance. I take the jewelry out every now and then to give it a good clean, and just check to make sure there is nothing lodged in the hole. I check that the balls are tight on the barbell on a regular basis and keep a few spares in case I have the misfortune of swallowing one. I have had no dental problems as a result of my piercing. I wear a half inch barbell with 4mm balls to prevent it from getting in the way of eating, chipping my teeth, or causing gum erosion on the roof of my mouth. It is also more comfortable to wear a shorter barbell and less likely to rip out. If you are thinking/considering getting your tongue pierced, i would recommend it, especially if it is your first time getting pierced.