My teen wants to get a body piercing. I am not so hot on that. She doesn't realize how dangerous it can be. Expensive too if you get a peirecing in your mouth. Did you know that g your tongue pierced can damnage tooth enamel (and even break teeth) and cause the need for pricey dental work in the future. Also a pierced tongue is more prone to medical complications in general, including to blood poisoning, blood clots hemorrhaging, nerve damage, paralysis, staph infections, methicillin resistant bacteria (flesh eating disease) and toxic shock. Not to mention that horrible clicking sound that some teens make when they are speaking.
So my kid wants her tongue pierced. She has no idea of the true purpose of that (pleasuring men in oral sex.) She just thinks it looks cool. I am saying no because it is too hard for a tongue to heal after a piercing. Piercing your tongue requires a much larger whole then the tiny pinprick that is used to pierce a person's earlobe so it is more like a wound. Also if the tongue is in constant motion (like my daughters) it is not going to heal very fast.
Tongue piercing are the worst when it comes to causing complications in your child's health down the line. However no matter where you get a body piercing on your body there is always a risk. The most common problems are infection, allergic reactions, hepatitis B, HIV transmission, and tetanus.
One of the worst consequences of body piercing can be Hepatitis B. This liver cam starts chronically becoming inflamed. . Hepatitis B is caused by the HBV virus, (hepatitis B virus) although it can also be caused by alcohol and other toxins (poisonous substances). Mostly contaminated needles used for tattooing and piercing provoke hepatitis B. This also sets the person up for a nice case of hepatitis later. Yet another consequence of contracting this virus through a body-piercing needle is cirrhosis. This is scarring that stops the organ from renewing itself as it naturally can. Both cirrhosis and Hepatitis B have no cures but are can only managed by expensive medications for the entire rest of the person's life. It just does not work.
Yet another sometimes-fatal result of body piercing is an HIV infection (AIDS of course!) which can be contracted through a dirty tattooing or piercing needle. AIDS is a deficiency of the body's immunes system that makes it difficult to effectively defend itself against infection. It can take a decade or longer for the HIV virus to develop into full-blown AIDS which makes the personal vulnerable to dying from a very simple infection like the flu. One of 250 Americans is currently HIV positive and does not know it.
The main way to avoid HIV and Hepatitis B is to get your body piercing done at a professional salon that is very clean and that has sterilized needles. Piercing your own cheek, lip, tongue, eyebrow, naval, tongue or ears is NOT recommended for anybody in this day and age so make sure your teen is not going to do a self-piercing behind your back!