Oral Piercing Aftercare

What to use:

  • A new toothbrush and

  • An alcohol-free mouthwash (such as Crest Pro Health)

Maintaining your piercing:

Maintain good oral hygiene, brush 2-3x per day, and always at least once before bed

Rinse with alcohol free mouthwash for 30 seconds 2 times per day. Using mouthwash more than 2 times per day will irritate your piercing and could lead to thrush, so don’t over do it!

Rinse with cool bottled water regularly throughout the day to prevent particulates and residue from building up around your piercing, you cannot do this too much! Anytime you eat, drink, smoke, or put something in your mouth that isn’t water, rinse out with cool water after to keep everything fluid and moving.

Suck on ice and eat cold foods and drinks to reduce swelling in oral piercings. This feels great and helps reduce inflammation.

There are no restrictions on what you can eat after an oral piercing, but it is good practice to be cautious eating anything spicy, crunchy, sticky, or that requires large bites to be taken. Keep cool water nearby to rinse with if things don’t go as planned.

Expect to keep up on your oral piercing aftercare routine for the entirety of your healing process.

DO NOT twist or turn your jewelry through the healing time. The idea that you have to twist your jewelry to prevent it from being “stuck” is an old wives tale. If your jewelry feels stuck it generally means that it needs a good cleaning. If it’s a piercing that is both oral and external (like a labret) for the external portion, take a warm shower and gently flush the piercing under the warm water. When you get out if it’s still feeling stuck use saline to flush the area. For the oral portion, rinse and swish thoroughly with water of your preferred temperature.

You’ll need a jewelry downsize at some point within the first month of having your piercing. Downsizing is an important step, both for the health of your piercing and for your personal comfort. Expect somewhere between 2-4 weeks for your first downsize, and sometimes another at around 6 months.