How to Care for Oral Piercing

Oral Piercing Care

Use one or both of the following solutions for inside the mouth:

Antimicrobial or antibacterial alcohol-free mouth rinse.

Packaged sterile saline solution with no additives (read the label) or non-iodized sea salt mixture: Dissolve 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized (iodine free) sea salt into one cup (8 oz) of warm distilled or bottled water. A stronger mixture is not better. Saline solution tat is too strong can irritate your piercing. (If you have high blood pressure or a heart condition, please check with your doctor before using a saline product as your primary cleaning solution.)

CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSIDE THE MOUTH

Rinse mouth with cleaning solution for 30 seconds after meals and at bedtime (4-5 times daily) during the entire healing period. Cleaning too often or with too strong a rinse can cause discoloration and irritation of your mouth and piercing.

CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE EXTERIOR OF LABRET (CHEEK AND LIP) PIERCINGS

Soak in saline solution and/or wash in mild, fragrance-free liquid soap-preferably anti-microbial or germicidal.
WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.

SALINE soak at least two to three times daily. Simply soak directly in a cup of warm saline solution for five to ten minutes.

For certain placements it may be easier to apply using clean gauze saturated with saline solution. A brief rinse afterward will remove any residue.

SOAP no more than once or twice a day. While showering, lather up a pearl size drop of the soap to clean the jewelry and the piercing. Leave the cleanser on the piercing no more than thirty seconds.

RINSE thoroughly to remove all traces of the soap from the piercing. It is not necessary to rotate the jewelry through the piercing.

DRY by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products. Cloth towels can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry, causing injury.

WHAT IS NORMAL?

For the first three to five days: significant swelling, light bleeding, bruising, and/or tenderness.

After that: Some swelling, light secretion of a whitish yellow fluid (not pus).

A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because they heal from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the tissue remains fragile on the inside. Be patient, and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.

Even healed piercings can shrink or close in minutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person; if you like your piercing, keep jewelry in-do not leave the hole empty.

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