Oral Piercing Aftercare
It's Time To Start Your Healing Journey!
At the end of your appointment, You should have been given you a card with your piercers info, your sizing information and healing information, this indicates what size you are pierced with and when you are due for a downsize and checkup as well as an average healed date.
This is approximate due to your piercing location and anatomy, this can change if there are any issues that disrupt healing, you should always consult with us if you have any questions or concerns.
You should not change your jewelry yourself until you are fully healed.
Aftercare for oral piercings is slightly different, as the type of skin on the inside of your mouth requires a different environment for healing and is subject to many variables that we don’t usually see in regular piercings, So it's important to maintain good oral hygiene as well as avoid a few things and of course, a correct and consistent aftercare routine!
We start by figuring out if the piercing is a completely in the mouth (like a Tongue piercing) or a piercing that travels outside/in (like a Labret piercing). For a piercing that's both on the inside AND outside you should follow both sets of directions together.
OUTSIDE OF MOUTH AFTERCARE
Clean It
To properly care for the outside of your piercing you should start by washing your hands thoroughly with soap, once your hands are clean you can begin to either rinse the outside of your piercing with warm running water from the shower head for around 30 seconds or if a shower isn't possible, you should rinse using a sterile saline spray, soaking off any secretions created by the healing skin
Dry It
Once the skin and jewelry is free of all debris, gently dry the piercing with a clean piece of paper towel.
(Please avoid fabric towels as they harbour bacteria) You should never leave a healing piercing wet.
Monitor It
Oral piercings in particular are subject to high volume swelling, so downsizing once swelling has subsided is vital to your healing and protects your teeth from damage and wear.
You should try to aim for a downsize appointment 2-3 weeks after piercing.
INSIDE THE MOUTH AFTERCARE
Clean It
To properly care of the inside of your mouth after a piercing, you should start by brushing your teeth. Good oral hygiene is very important to overall heath and the health of your piercing. Once you have brushed, rinse with an alcohol-free mouthwash for around 30 seconds.
You should do this when waking up, after lunch and before bed. You should also rinse with cool water after every meal and drink that isn’t water, this will help keep food debris out of your piercing.
Monitor It
Oral piercings in particular are subject to high volume swelling, so downsizing once swelling has subsided is vital to your healing and protects your teeth from damage and wear.
You should try to aim for a downsize appointment 2-3 weeks after piercing.
THINGS TO AVOID
-
Try to avoid anything that will sting your mouth, this will avoid pain, excess swelling and irritation.
Hot temperature food and drinks during swelling should also be avoided as the skin is extra sensitive, making hot foods and drinks seem even hotter,
So let everything cool a little before ingesting. -
Avoid eating with fingers. Our hands contain so much bacteria, especially while eating.
Different surfaces, condiments, bottles and glasses make for a variety of germs we shouldn’t be adding to our piercing, so wash your hands before and eat with a knife and fork. -
Test driving your new oral piercing may seem like a great idea, but fluid transfer for the first 6 weeks is not advised and can lead to irritation and pose a serious risk of infection, you should wait until after downsizing before attempting any activity.
-
Yeast-based alcohols like beer or wine can add excess swelling to the piercing,
So it's best to avoid it until after your downsizing appointment. -
Once your piercing is fully healed and the fistula is fully mature, you will be able to play, but for the whole time of healing you gotta leave it alone, if you don’t you run the risk of migration, irritation and even rejection!
Back in the day, it was advised to spin your jewelry. this was because non implant grade jewelry was molded with different qualities of steel, leaving microscopic seems and grooves that your skin would heal into, so spinning the jewelry was advised to make sure your earrings didn't permanently heal to your skin or rip the skin when being removed.
Things have, thankfully have changed a LOT since then.
Here at Gold Hollow inc, we only use certified implant grade jewelry from the worlds most trusted companies with verification.
Which means the materials are certified safe for all skin types and even microscopically our jewelry has a mirror polish to create beautiful healed piercings without the need for spinning.