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| Lip piercing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nicknames | Various, depending on placement |
| Location | Upper, lower or middle lip |
| Healing | 6 to 8 weeks |
A lip piercing is a type of body piercing that penetrates the lips or the area surrounding the lips, which can be pierced in a variety of ways.
Approximate healing time for most lip piercings is between 1 and 3 months; however, there is a possibility of serious infection if the piercing is not properly taken care of. [1] After healing is complete, other jewelry may be used. After this time, some scar tissue may be present, but the fistula is normally fully developed and mostly healed. Aftercare consists of hot saline soaks two to three times daily. Soaking the wound for three to five minutes with a weak saline solution softens any blood and lymph discharge attached to the jewelry. Afterwards, taking a hot shower and using clean hands and a small amount of a mild soap such as castile soap removes excess matter from the site. Turning or otherwise moving jewelry on a fresh piercing is not advised, as it can irritate and lengthen swelling and healing time. Diluted mouthwash or salt water solution can also be used after meals along with toothbrushing to help remove debris and flush the piercing and is recommended by practitioners.
Initial jewelry is usually a labret stud or a captive bead ring, manufactured from implant-grade titanium or similar lightweight and inert metal. No matter which type of jewelry is used, the jewelry's diameter and length will be intentionally oversized to allow room for initial swelling. After healing, the jewelry can be replaced with a closer-fitting piece. A home-made saline solution made from non-iodized sea salt and hot distilled or filtered water is a common way to heal a lip piercing and avoid infection. This solution can be used to rinse out the mouth after eating (or the mouth can be rinsed with non-alcoholic, non-antimicrobial mouth wash) and to soak the outside of the piercing. Anything with alcohol, peroxide, iodine, or any strong soaps should be avoided because they may irritate the fresh piercing, and cause additional swelling and trauma during the healing process. Using peroxide, iodine, teatree oil, conventional antibacterial soap, or dish soap can damage or kill the skin in and around the piercing, extending the healing process. The use of Hydrogen peroxide can damage the piercing site more, resulting in irritation of the piercing. The ornament should be periodically cleansed to prevent bacterial plaque accumulation.
Lip piercings can be placed anywhere around the mouth, but the surface of the lip is not typically pierced itself, except for horizontal lip piercings and canine bites. Piercings in specific positions have certain names. Monroe piercings, for example, are labret studs worn on the upper lip where Marilyn Monroe had her famous beauty mark. Medusa piercings go through the center of the upper lip (the philtrum), perpendicular to the tissue. Labret piercings are pierced with a labret stud and can pierced in the center or off-center. A variation of this is the lowbret, a lower labret. Vertical labret piercings go through the center of the bottom lip, parallel to the tissue. The variation is called the vertical lowbret, which starts inside the mouth between the lower lip and the teeth and travels straight down, exiting on the lower edge of the jawline. Horizontal lip piercings are very rare, and include a horizontal bar on the lower lip that goes through the lip surface. Another variation of the labret is known as the dahlia piercing. The piercings, placed at or very near the corners of the mouth, are named in reference to the murder of Black Dahlia, in which the victim's mouth was cut along the same horizontal line along which these piercings are placed. (See Glasgow smile.)
Precolumbian cultures of South America historically used lip piercing called Tembetá. Lip piercing continues to be practiced by many people, the most well-known of which are certain African tribes, who wear large decorative lip plates or discs, usually in the lower lip.
In contemporary society, lip piercings are relatively common. In a study among Israeli young-adults, 4.3% had present or past body piercing (not included earlobe, lip or intra-oral piercing), and 5.7%, 6.2% and 15.7% had present or past lip piercing, body tattooing and intra-oral piercing, respectively. [2]
Studies have found people with lip piercings to have 4 to 7 times higher risk of gingival recession than people without piercing. Studies also found a higher percentage of dental trauma in people with lip piercings. [3] [4]
The Prince Albert (PA) is a penis piercing which extends from the urethra to the underside of the glans. It is one of the most common male genital piercings. The related reverse Prince Albert piercing enters through the urethra and exits through a hole pierced in the top of the glans.
A navel piercing is a type of piercing that penetrates the skin of the navel. It is most commonly located on the upper fold of skin but can also be affected underneath or around the edges of the navel. Healing usually takes around 6–12 months but varies person-to-person due to differences in physiology.
A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue. Since its decline in popularity around 2011, it has seen a recent upsurge making it now the second most popular piercing amongst young women aged 18-25 in 2019. It has become quite unpopular amongst men, although in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was more popular for men than women to get and associated with punk culture. Midline tongue piercings, or one hole through the center of the tongue is the most common way to have the tongue pierced.
Cheek piercing is facial body piercing through the cheek. The most common variation of the cheek piercing penetrates the facial tissue into the oral cavity. The usual placement is symmetrical on either side of the face, either penetrating or imitating dimples. The piercing can cause the wearer slight nerve damage and will result in "man-made dimples". An alternative is microdermal implants, placed in the intended dimple location. This method avoids drawbacks of full cheek piercings, which have a tendency to leak or secrete lymph fluid, which has a saliva-like texture and can create an unpleasant odor. Though microdermals do have a slightly larger chance to leave a scar than a piercing, they will heal eventually and be almost unnoticeable. The rate of infection is also lower in the long run. Because the piercing does not penetrate the cheek completely, there is little to no chance of tooth or gum damage. Microdermals are like a 'one hole' piercing, where the 'foot' of the jewelry sits below the skin and the decorative jewel or flat disc is above the skin.
A labret is a form of body piercing. Taken literally, it is any type of adornment that is attached to the lip (labrum). However, the term usually refers to a piercing that is below the bottom lip, above the chin. It is sometimes referred to as a "tongue pillar" or a "soul patch piercing".
Body piercing jewelry is jewelry manufactured specifically for use in body piercing. The jewelry involved in the art of body piercing comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes in order to best fit the pierced site. Jewelry may be worn for fashion, cultural tradition, religious beliefs, personal symbolism, and many other reasons.
An industrial piercing, also known as a scaffold piercing (UK/Ireland) or construction piercing, is any ear piercing that consists of two pierced holes connected with a single piece of jewelry. These piercings typically consist of a double perforation of the upper ear cartilage specifically. Two piercings must be made: one is fairly close to the head, while the second one is further down the helix on the opposite side of the ear. Industrial piercings that are vertical are also known as a suicide industrial.
The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Vertebrate lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food and the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are also a somatosensory organ, and can be an erogenous zone when used in kissing and other acts of intimacy.
A rook piercing is a perforation of the antihelix of the ear for the purpose of wearing jewelry. It is located just above the tragus on the ridge between the inner and outer conch with the piercing passing from the underside to the top of this ridge, differing from many ear piercings that essentially span between a "front" and "back" surface. Erik Dakota, a well known professional piercer and the individual responsible for originating and popularizing the rook piercing, is said to have named this modification after a shortened version of his first name. The piercing was first named in issue #4 of the magazine Body Play and Modern Primitives Quarterly around 1992 alongside the first printed reference to the industrial piercing, then termed "industrial ear project".
A uvula piercing is a body piercing through the uvula, the projection of the soft palate between the tonsils. This is a rare piercing. Captive bead rings or other small rings are the most commonly seen jewellery in uvula piercings.
Gingival recession, also known as gum recession and receding gums, is the exposure in the roots of the teeth caused by a loss of gum tissue and/or retraction of the gingival margin from the crown of the teeth. Gum recession is a common problem in adults over the age of 40, but it may also occur starting in adolescence, or around the age of 10. It may exist with or without concomitant decrease in crown-to-root ratio.
A Monroe piercing is a lip piercing placed off-center, above the upper lip on the left-hand side and is meant to resemble Marilyn Monroe's beauty spot, although Monroe's beauty spot was on her cheek, not her lip. The Madonna piercing is similar but worn on the right-hand side.
A philtrum piercing, nicknamed a medusa piercing, is an upper lip piercing placed in the philtrum, directly under the septum of the nose. It is typically pierced using a labret stud as jewelry, with the ball sitting outside the mouth in the dip of the top lip.
An orbital piercing is a combination of two ear piercings connected by one piece of jewelry. Usually located in the helix region of the ear, an Orbital Piercing can be done anywhere on the body including your earlobes. The piercing uses a hoop, and is not to be confused with an industrial piercing, a conch piercing or double cartilage piercing.
A hip piercing is a piercing in the pelvic area through the skin near the hip bone. Hip piercings are often done in couplets with one on each hip, but it is not unusual to see only one. Hips piercing are a type of surface piercing. Microdermals or skin divers can be implanted in the hip area to give a similar appearance.
Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn, or where an implant could be inserted. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice. It can also, by metonymy, refer to the resulting decoration, or to the decorative jewelry used. Piercing implants alter the body and/or skin profile and appearance. Although the history of body piercing is obscured by popular misinformation and by a lack of scholarly reference, ample evidence exists to document that it has been practiced in various forms by multiple sexes since ancient times throughout the world. Body piercing can be performed on people of all ages, although most minors are only permitted to have earlobe piercings.
Dental trauma refers to trauma (injury) to the teeth and/or periodontium, and nearby soft tissues such as the lips, tongue, etc. The study of dental trauma is called dental traumatology.
A jestrum piercing, also known as a vertical medusa or vertical philtrum, is an upper lip piercing that is very similar to a labret piercing, or more specifically a vertical labret piercing. It is placed in the philtrum of the upper lip, directly under the nasal septum. Unlike the similar medusa piercing, a jestrum piercing uses a curved bar-bell, and both ends of the piercing are visible externally with the lower part of the bar-bell curving around the underside of the upper lip. Sometimes it is combined with a lower labret piercing to form a symmetrical look.
Dental avulsion is the complete displacement of a tooth from its socket in alveolar bone owing to trauma. Normally, a tooth is connected to the socket by the periodontal ligament. When a tooth is knocked out, the ligament is torn.