The Many Types of Oral Piercings

Oral piercings are the piercings that are in or around the mouth. This includes: tongue piercings, lip piercings, and cheek piercings. These piercings can also be considered as facial piercings, but the healing and maintenance of oral piercings are considerably different then facial piercings.

Here is a list of the most common oral piercings:

The Midline tongue piercing

This goes straight through the tissue of the tongue vertically. It is the “traditional” tongue piercing. This piercing is most commonly done with a straight barbell.

Lower Frenulum

This is also known as the tongue webbing. This piercing is traditionally done with a curved or straight barbell through the webbing underneath the tongue.

Upper Frenulum

This is known as the upper tongue webbing or a “smiley”. It consists of one or more piercings that go through the upper frenulum that is right below the upper lip. This is the tissue that connects the gum to the lip. It is traditionally done with a curved barbell or circular barbell.

Two Vertical Tongue Piercings

This is also known as “Venom Bites” this is when two straight barbells are pierced vertically through the tongue. These piercings sit symmetric to one another in a horizontal positioning.

Horizontal Tongue Piercing

This is also known as the “Snake Eye” piercing. This is when a curved barbell is pierced through the tip of the tongue horizontally.

Labret Piercing

A single piercing that is located under the bottom lip

Snake Bites

These are two piercings that are done on each side of the bottom lip, they are done with a straight or circular barbell. They are pierced horizontally through the bottom lip.

Angel Bites

This a symmetrical piercing done on the both sides above the upper lip. These piercings are done horizontally through the lip, and they are done with a straight or circular barbell.

Spider Bites

These are two horizontal piercings on one side of the lip. These are done with a straight or circular barbells.

Monroe

This is a piercing above the lip on the left-hand side. It is done horizontally through the lip and it is done with a straight barbell.

Medusa/philtrum

This is located above the upper lip right under the philtrum.

Dahlia

This is a double piercing that sits at the sides of the mouth.

Dolphin Bites

These are done horizontally under the bottom lip. These are done very close to each other with straight or circular barbells.

These are just some of the most popular oral piercings, but there are so many different combinations that can be done. The different combination of piercings makes them a great way to show off your creative expression. There are so many different jewelry options that can be done with the different types of lip piercings. Since these piercings are done with all types of barbells they can be customized. The color/gem on the end of the barbell can be customized as well as the color of the actual bar.

This type of piercing might look good, but it does come with some risk to your dental health. These piercings can make you; drool more, cause gum deterioration, make it hard to speak, damage the tongue, and damage dental work such as fillings. In order to protect your oral health, it is important to consult your piercer about proper jewelry. Initially to account for swelling, a longer starter labret stud or a wider diameter lip ring will be used to avoid the jewelry from pressing into the lip. It’s important to be conscious of the jewelry because of the size variations during healing. After a few weeks, your piercer will downgrade the jewelry to something smaller. A mouth piercing can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months to heal, depending on the piercing.

After getting pierced it is important to take care of the piercing. While the new piercing is healing it is important to keep good hygiene and keep good physical health. This can include drinking a lot of water, avoiding alcohol, and refraining from smoking. To clean the piercing a simple saline solution and non-alcoholic mouth wash will work. If there are any issues with the piercing it is best to have your piercer or medical doctor look at the piercing.