Tongue piercings linked to diastemas

Playing with a pierced tongue stud could lead to a gap between the front teeth according to a new study.

The Research, which was carried out at the University at Buffalo in New York, suggested that tongue piercings could be a major cause of unnecessary orthodontic issues. The report claimed that those with tongue piercings were likely to push the metal stud up against their teeth and consequently cause gaps and other problems to arise. Lead author of the study, Sawsan Tabbaa, said that 'force, over time, moves teeth' and that the results are caused by people playing with their studs crop up in a 'very high percent of the cases'. A professor of orthodontics at the University at Buffalo School Of Dental Medicine, Tabbaa, explained that tooth damage was common in both past and current case studies. The current study featured a 26-year-old female patient and showed that a space between the upper front teeth had appeared during a period of seven years, as the metal bar was pushed against and between the teeth. The author concluded that tongue piercings could result in serious injuries, not just to teeth but said they have also been associated with haemorrhages, infections, trauma to the gums and in the worst cases, brain abscesses. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics.