At A Glance
Author	Asphyxiated.Kisses
Contact	Asphyxiated.Kisses@bme.anon
When	Five years ago
Artist	Jim Raimar
Studio	Old Town Tattoo
Location	Saginaw, MI

I've always been pretty fascinated by piercings and tattoos, so I suppose it was only natural to begin my experience with them as soon as I possibly could. I pierced my eyebrow not long after my 18th birthday, and my first tattoo was soon to follow. I was hooked. The momentary pain was not enough to scare me off from achieving the desired lasting results. I actually still remember looking up at the wall while I was getting my first tattoo, and seeing the phrase "Pain is temporary. Pride is permanent." Obviously this mind-set has stayed with me through-out the years, as I have continued to get more and more work done.

If memory serves correctly, I was 19 years old, when I accompanied my friend to get her ear cartilage pierced. Not wanting to do it alone, she offered to pay for me to be pierced as well. I'd entertained the thought of piercing my labret before, but never went through with it. So I figured there was no time like the present. Hey, it's free.. right?

I watched my friend squirm and curse on the table during her piercing. Then before I knew it, it was my turn.

I sat on the table, watching Jim sterilize and prep everything. He and I stood in front of the mirror and picked the perfect placement for my new adornment. I had chosen a 16g barbell so that I could have the single silver ball protruding below my lower lip. Back on the table, I had to swish around the inside of my mouth with an antiseptic/topical numbing agent before we got started. After this he drew on the dots, and after one last placement check, we were ready.

Jim had me lay down on the table, and positioned the clamp on my bottom lip. He was very good about explaining what he was about to do, and making sure I was prepared for it to happen. I remember seeing the size of the piercing needle and wanting to freak out, but I knew it would be over quickly. So he started on the inside (since it's easier to penetrate) and I remember the feeling of pressure while he was working it through. All of a sudden there was a rip/pop kind of sound, and it was over. Shaky and definitely excited, I remained there until he had threaded and secured the jewelry. After I stood up and looked in the mirror, I immediately loved it.

I don't remember the healing being particularly long or painful. I was quite careful about what I ate, and how I chewed for the first couple of weeks. It healed nicely, and all was well.

I got a variety of feedback from my friends, family and peers. Some people liked it quite a bit, and others not at all. But one thing was for sure, I was pleased with it.

The first problem arose when I went to see my dentist for a routine cleaning. He stated that my gum line on the two bottom front teeth seemed to be a little lower than normal. He then explained all the dangers of oral piercings, including teeth being broken on tongue rings, which I considered completely irrelevant. I figured he was just being super conservative and trying to talk me into taking it out. I listened and feigned concern, then went on my merry way.

At this point in time, I'd only had this piercing a few months. I barely even noticed it was there the majority of the time.

However, one day I was eating dinner, and the ball clinked down onto my plate. I figured it must have worked itself loose with all my talking and chewing. So now I became obsessed with checking to be sure that the ball was screwed on tightly. Amazingly enough, I had this same problem a few more times and almost lost the ball completely. This was starting to get annoying.

I had to go back to my dentist for a filling within the next month. Again, he pointed out that the gums had receded. Apparently the positioning I had chosen, was forcing the back piece to rest right on my gum line. And after considering this sort of permanent loss may effect the way that my smile would look forever, I opted to take out the piercing. Coincidentally, at pretty much the same time I had been offered a job that strongly urged me to remove my piercing while at work. Well, after having it out for only a couple of days, I tried to push it back through and realized it had closed.

Overall, it wasn't a bad experience. It just didn't work out for me based on a few small but possibly long-term consequential factors.

I would recommend that anyone considering getting this pierced take these matters into account.

And DO try to pick a placement that will not scrape or bump your teeth, and wont rub too often on your gums.