Tongue piercing
From Free net encyclopedia
A tongue piercing is a piercing through the tongue. A single piercing in the center of the tongue is the most common form of this piercing, but multiple piercings are also possible. Placement of this piercing is more difficult than many others, as it is both inside the body and penetrates muscle tissue, also the position of veins and nerves in the tongue being pierced must be taken into account. The webbing beneath the tongue, known as the frenulum must also be taken into account as well as the position of the jewelry in relation to teeth and gums to lessen the risk of damage. Off-center piercings can be more complicated as they pass through more muscle tissue (where as center piercing pass through the space between the two muscles).
When done with the correct equipment, the piercing itself is not as painful as might be expected: like most piercings, the pain, while quite intense, is fleeting. However, a large amount of swelling in the (3-7) days afterwards can be extremely uncomfortable. This swelling must be accounted for by using a longer piece of initial jewelry, which is later replaced by a shorter piece of jewelry to prevent the healed piercing from damaging the teeth and gums.
A tongue piercing usually takes 4-6 weeks to fully heal. Aftercare for tongue piercings is more complicated than most other piercings, as the healing piercing will come into contact with anything that enters the mouth, including food and smoke. For these reasons, many certified piercers suggest as after care guidelines, not to engage in oral sex, not to smoke, and to remember rinsing your mouth thoroughly with a particular antiseptic mouthwash recommended by the certified piercer.
Jewelery
Tongue piercings are most often pierced with straight barbell style jewelry. Due to the amount of action and movement that the tongue is involved with (speech, eating, kissing, etc...), jewelery size and comfort is especially important. Thin posts on barbells can be irritating, and migrate, causing discomfort and irritation. Due to the amount of activity that the tongue is engaged in, tongue piercings can often be easily stretched to accommodate larger jewelry. The beads at the end of the barbell can be made of many decorative materials, including plastic, but the environent of the mouth can cause cracking and discoloration in the jewelry over time. No-see-um beads, flatter beads, matching the color of the tongue are sometimes worn to conceal this piercing, often in places of employment.
An uncommon version of this piercing will be close to the tip of the tongue, and a captive bead ring, may be worn in it. This placement and jewelry choice is uncommon because it is much more likely to cause discomfort and damage the teeth and gums.
History and culture
There is a history of ritual tongue piercing in both Aztec and Maya cultures, with illustrations of priests piercing their tongue and then either drawing blood from it or passing rough cords, designed to inflict pain, through the hole. There is no evidence of permanent or long term tongue piercing in Aztec culture, however, despite the practice of many other permanent body modifications.
Permanent or long term piercing of the tongue is part of the resurgence of body piercing in contemporary society. The ready availabilty of high quality, surgical steel barbell style jewelry is associated with the emergence of this piercing in the 1980s. As with many contemporary body piercing innovations, the origin of this piercing is associated with Gauntlet, the first professional body piercing studio in the United States, formerly located in Los Angeles, California. Elayne Angel the first person awarded the Master Piercer's certificate by Jim Ward, body piercing pioneer and founder of Gauntlet, is commonly associated with the promotion and popularity of this piercing.
In popular culture tongue piercings are often associated with oral sex, with the bearer of this piercing to be presumed to be capable of pleasuring a partner to a greater extent. There is no data to support this belief, but the opportunity to be seen as a more capable sexual partner has encouraged many people to get this piercing.
In his spoken word song, No Sex (In the Champagne Room), Chris Rock jokingly suggests that if a girl has a pierced tongue, "she'll probably suck your dick," (to which chorus-singer Gerald Levert sings "That'd be nice, yeaaaah!"). Rock continues to observe that a guy with a pierced tongue will also "probably suck your dick," (to which Levert responds "Don't want that, noooooo").
Popular names for tongue piercing include tongue ring, a misnomer, as only rarely are rings worn in tongue piercings. Paired, side-by-side tongue piercings are commonly referred to as venom piercings or less commonly viper bites, in reference to a snake's fangs.
External link
The Association of Professional Piercers oral piercing risks page.de:Zungenpiercing