I am a teacher in a public school, so I have to be conscious to a certain extent of how I appear to people. I don't think that this is necessarily fair, but I do live in a conservative area and being new to the school division I don't want to ruffle too many feathers. Having said this, during Spring Break back in April I decided that I wanted to add to my short list of existing modifications with a new piercing. After researching the pros and cons of various piercings, I fell in love with the tongue web piercing. It seemed like just the right piercing for me at this time in my life. It wasn't very common, had a fairly easy healing period, and could be hidden. I drove to the nearest APP studio in Greensboro, North Carolina one Saturday night and asked the piercer if she could perform this procedure on me. She checked my web to make sure it was large enough, and luckily it was. My brother was with me and inquired about his web. She checked him and he couldn't get the procedure . After going through the legalities (checking my ID, paying, and going over after-care) I was ready for my new piercing. The piercer was very helpful in telling me exactly what to expect. She told me the steps involved in the piercing and what to do. I rinsed with Listerine and then sat in the chair. She told me I'd have to hold my mouth open and my tongue up the whole time, which is easier said than done. For a few minutes during the procedure I was reminded of being in a dentist's chair except there was no suction to drain the saliva that was collecting in my mouth. But it wasn't that bad. I felt the forceps and the clamp, but never felt the needle going through the web. The most painful part was during insertion of the jewelry. It was difficult getting the bead on the CBR tight enough so that it didn't come loose during healing. All that I felt then was the twisting of the forceps on my web, which hurt a little. The piercer told me that she'd only done a tongue web pier cing five or six times, so she wanted to get a picture of the finished product for her portfolio.
At A Glance Author Karma Contact justlikeyouimagined2002@yahoo.com When Three months ago Location Greensboro, NC After leaving the studio, I noticed that there was a slight lisp when I spoke. It also felt awkward having something under my tongue for the first time in my life. I made the mistake of eating Mexican that night. The piercer had told me to avoid spicy food for a while but I guess I was too caught up in the moment to think about that. Other than that, which was my fault, there was no pain or bleeding. There was a little swelling the next morning, which eventually went down. I quickly became used to the idea of rinsing with a 50/50 -Listerine/Water solution after putting anything in my mouth. I'd also been instructed to avoid kissing and oral sex during the healing period, which would be about eight weeks. By the time I went back to work, the lisp had already disappeared and all was well.
No one at work noticed the ring on his or her own. I showed a couple of co-workers and received mixed reactions. Some thought it was interesting and commented that they'd never heard of that being done before. The school nurse didn't get it at all. She asked, "What's the point if no one can see it?" My students, who are first through fifth graders with various learning disabilities, weren't shocked at all. They thought it was "cool." I think that they were used to their teacher looking a little "different" than other teachers because they'd seen some of my ear piercings and one of my tattoos.
I'd read that tongue web piercings tend to migrate and became concerned several weeks later when I realized that I could stick the ring out further and further over my teeth. I noticed that the area around the piercing was white and started looking bulbous around the entrance/exit sites. I consulted other people on a piercing message board and it seemed like my fears were right-my beloved tongue web piercing was migrating out. I decided to leave it in for as long as I could before it came out on its own because I couldn't stand the thought of retiring it. After all, I'd only had the piercing close to two months. As time went on, I noticed that the bulb-like areas around the piercing became larger and kind of ugly, not that anybody else was looking at them. Being someone who worries a lot, I wondered if once the ring was gone would the bulbs disappear too. I also thought about the jewelry migrating all the way out and then having a ripped web on my hands. I finally made the decision to retire the tongue web piercing and took it out several weeks ago. I miss the piercing and the bulbs did shrink. All that's left of the piercing are two small bumps around the area where the jewelry went through. Even though I lost this piercing, I don't regret having it done.