by DENNY CARTER

The Terrapin Times Staff Writer

           Dr. John K. Brooks doesn’t believe the message is loud enough. He is increasingly concerned with an emerging public health issue that is directly related to fashion, especially among young adults. Dr. Brooks says oral piercing is a serious threat to the dental well-being of anyone who has one.

            Dr. Brooks, clinical associate professor at the University Dental School, along with two colleagues at the University Dental School, published a study in the Journal of the American Dental Association that gave clinical evidence that oral jewelry could damage gums, cause painful infection and in severe cases, cause tooth loss. Brooks knows that not everyone with an oral piercing will listen to him, but he hopes he can influence those who are considering one.

            “No one wants to ruin a good smile,” Brooks said. “But to those who wear [oral] piercings, they should stop wearing it before the damage becomes permanent. They will regret that.”

            In Brooks’ research, there was one 19-year-old woman with a particularly bad case. She had a barbell-like piece of jewelry through her tongue that caused such severe damage to one of her lower front teeth that the tooth had almost completely pulled away from the gums. Brooks said the young woman’s damaged tooth was in an area in the mouth that is particularly difficult to correct, only complicating the injury.

            Brooks also said he is disturbed by the condition of the gums of people who have oral jewelry. When a piece of oral jewelry constantly rubs against the gums, it can cause the soft tissue to recede.

            “We’re seeing the development of severe localized gum problems that we typically don’t see in such a young age group,” Brooks said. “These are usually types of periodontal problems that we see in older individuals.”

            Katie Hidalgo, a junior Studio Art major, has no regrets about her lip piercing. Although Hidalgo had previous complications with an eyebrow piercing, she said her lip ring, which she got nearly a year ago, has caused her no trouble. Hidalgo said she has several friends who were forced to remove their oral jewelry due to an infection, but with a few anti-bacterial products, her piercing healed quickly and has yet to become infected.

            Hidalgo recommends oral piercings to anyone who is interested, but has a warning for those who do: “Definitely clean it and listen to what your piercer says,” she said. “The first few months are crucial. If you don’t clean it well, it will definitely get infected.”

            Jason Lampel has the same advice. Lampel, a body piercer and tattoo artist at Great Southern Tattoo Company on Fox Street in College Park, said the dental community concentrates on the few people who do not take proper care of their oral piercings, rather than the many who do. Lampel’s two chipped front teeth demonstrate the adverse affects that come with oral jewelry, but he said there is little he can do about it.

            Lampel also disagrees with the dental community on the affect of oral jewelry on the gums.

            “There’s been so many dentists who have told me lip rings and tongue rings don’t recede the gum line,” he said. “If anything, [oral jewelry] keeps dentists in business.”

            Contrary to the opinion of Dr. Brooks, Lampel believes the number of people getting oral piercings has decreased over the last few years. Lampel said five years ago, he gave seven to ten oral piercings everyday. Now, Lampel said, he gives about one a week.

            Bethra Szumski, president of the Association of Professional Piercers, said there are no official oral piercing statistics, but she believes the amount of people getting oral piercings has leveled off in the last two years. She said there is no way to tell for sure, but she remembered piercing many more tongues and lips before the last two years. Szumski, who has two tongue piercings herself, stressed the importance of dental hygiene for people with oral piercings. She recommended that anyone with questions pertaining to the care of an oral piercing visit the APP website and read the association’s aftercare guidelines.

            Gail Lee has grown accustomed to treating students at the university who experienced complications with their oral piercings. Dr. Lee, who has worked at the university health center for six years, said it has become routine for students to need treatment for an infection due to an oral piercing.

            “We get them all the time,” Lee said. “Of course I don’t keep count, but it is a good amount.”

            Lee said the dental profession as a whole is strongly opposed to any kind of oral piercing, a message strongly stated by Dr. Brooks, who hopes that his research will help to deter anyone who is considering oral jewelry.

            “We hope the message gets out there, that’s why we publish information like this,” he said. “It’s just not worth risking losing a front tooth.”