{"id":192,"date":"2023-08-07T11:12:44","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T01:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/the-lowdown-on-piercings-teen-smiles\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T04:03:50","slug":"the-lowdown-on-piercings-teen-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/the-lowdown-on-piercings-teen-smiles\/","title":{"rendered":"the lowdown on piercings &#038; teen smiles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Oral piercings are nothing new. For years, teens and adults alike have used lips, tongue and cheek piercings as a form of self-expression. At smilogy, we love what makes you \u201cyou\u201d. We know that piercings may be part of your teen\u2019s personality, but as dental professionals, we owe you the facts.<\/p>\n<p>Piercings (studs, barbells and rings) around the mouth pose greater health risks than many piercings elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Years of wisdom tells us that telling teens what to do never solves anything. Seriously, think back to when you were younger &#8211; your parents probably seemed seriously uncool.<\/p>\n<h2>the risks<\/h2>\n<p>While not everyone with a lip, tongue or cheek piercing is going to experience side effects, there are some real risks that you or your teen should be aware of.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA): \u201cIntra-oral and peri-oral piercings are invasive procedures that carry significant local and systemic health risks\u201d. These include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Infection due to bacteria surrounding the jewellery and when handling it<\/li>\n<li>Serious bleeding if the piercer hits a blood vessel<\/li>\n<li>Pain and swelling (in extreme cases, it can close off the airways)<\/li>\n<li>Cracked, chipped and fractured teeth<\/li>\n<li>Damage to any existing repair work<\/li>\n<li>Injury to the gums, which can cause them to recede or even become diseased<\/li>\n<li>Excessive saliva flow and drooling<\/li>\n<li>Struggles with chewing and swallowing<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty speaking normally<\/li>\n<li>Blood borne diseases (if tools weren\u2019t sterilised properly)<\/li>\n<li>Nerve damage<\/li>\n<li>Allergic reactions<\/li>\n<li>Trouble with future dental work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>the law<\/h2>\n<p>The laws differ across Australia regarding whether teens can get piercings. Generally, children under the age of 16 need their parents\u2019 permission, although this is 18 in Western Australia.<\/p>\n<p>In the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Queensland, it depends on the teen &#8211; they can get them without your permission if they\u2019re thought to be mature enough to make \u201creasonable judgement\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, once your teen hits 18, they\u2019re legally an adult. They can (and may) get whatever they want, regardless of your thoughts!<\/p>\n<h2>minimising the risks<\/h2>\n<p>So, your teenager can\u2019t be persuaded. It\u2019s okay, we totally get it! If their mouth stays infection-free and the piercing doesn\u2019t interfere with their life, there are ways to protect them while they get on with it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose surgical stainless steel or titanium jewellery only<\/li>\n<li>Brush teeth twice a day and floss daily<\/li>\n<li>Gently brush the jewellery itself to remove bacteria<\/li>\n<li>Use antiseptic mouthwash after every meal<\/li>\n<li>Once healed, remove it while playing sports if you can<\/li>\n<li>If it\u2019s a tongue ring, get a plastic ring retainer. It\u2019s better for the teeth!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>speak to us!<\/h2>\n<p>In an ideal world, you could bring your teen to us, we\u2019d advise against piercings, they\u2019d say okay, and you\u2019d be on your way. We don\u2019t live in that world!<\/p>\n<p>However, at smilogy we are always on hand to offer advice where possible and help if anything happens to their smile.<\/p>\n<p>Find out more about <a href=\"\/dental-clinics\/teens\/\">dental care for teens<\/a> at our edgecliff and castle hill clinics, or <a href=\"\/dental-clinics\/book-online\/\">book online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lip, tongue and cheek piercings carry real risks for teeth and gums. Here&#8217;s what parents and teens should know, and how to reduce them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ih-teens-kids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions\/277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilogy.com.au\/dental-clinics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}