Tongue piercing - taking it out for extended periods

remembertheharddrive

If you've ever removed a fully healed tongue piercing (like after years of having it), how long did it take for your tongue to heal so that you could no longer slide a barbell through it?

I've just trying to get an estimate. I've been talking about it with my dentist and receding gum lines as a result of the piercing (on the interior of lower front teeth, which is quite common). I would like to retain the piercing for special occasions, but I'd like to keep my tongue empty the majority of the time in order to minimize the damage to my gums and teeths. I'm trying to get an estimate for how long I can remove the barbell at a time (such as days or even longer) before my tongue uses its superpower of healing to close it up. I've had it pierced for 11 years, so its not a fresh piercing whatsoever.

Thanks for the input!

runner761

I think mine healed within a week, it didn't take it long at all.

starboardzor

I had mine in for about a year on two separate occasions in my life. I took them out a couple days and that was it. Over with. I'm sure it varies person to person.

Now I want to get it re-done !!

hush7hush

I would suggest buying a clear retainer.
You can get them plastic.
Maybe it'd help.

cmyrick75

i think it took about 2 weeks for it to heal almost completely.

BamBam1113

Your mouth is one of the fastest healing parts of your body, so it won't take long at all.

shallo

My ex had his for 5 years..he couldn't get it back in after 3 or 4 days. It was totally healed in about a week.

laurenlei

Had mine done for about 6 years, took it out and i think it closed fully in 3 days!!! Cant even see any traces of it ever being done now!

BigBoneSista

Yeah around a week and it closed up on me as well and I had mine for 2 years.

JessPaul93016

I had my done for three years, and it only took a week to completely heal.

JMJohnson1005

I had mine done for 6 years. I took it out in 2009 and let it close up. I am not sure how long it took because I never tried to put a bar back in it. I do have a friend though who had hers for quite sometime and she had to take it out and then lost the bar. She said the next day she couldn't get one back in. Not sure if it is the same for everyone though. I can still feel where the bar should go and sometimes I wonder if I could put a bar through it, but I don't care to have one anymore so I don't try. Hope that was somewhat helpful to you.

LOVEsummer

I had the same wearing problem !! I would keep a retainer (small plastic bar without balls on the ends, usually clear) in while you have the barbell out. That is what I did when I started applying for jobs etc. One day I was in the back on my friends Wrangler, he hit a bump and I chomped the plastic ball... I decided it was fate ( I was about to start work in the professional desk jockey world haha ) and left it out... it was healed within 3 days, after 5 years of being pierced. Crazy.

sunshine79

I had mine pierced about 10 year ago. Everyone told me it closes up within hours - rubbish. I took it out permanently a few year ago and after finding the tongue bar a few months ago I had a do at putting it back in and guess what? I could still get it in!

andreae13

I swallowed mine once and by the time I was able to get a new one it was 45 mins later and I almost couldn't put it back in. When I had surgery on my shoulder they won't allow anything in your mouth so I had to give it up because the surgery was a couple hours long and it wouldn't go in at all after I got done. I have to say though, I don't miss it.

CeleryStalker

LOL I've had mine out for sheesh, about 8 years and just out of curiosity because of this thread, I checked and yep, I can still get a barbell through there. Granted, it's not a 6 gauge like what I used to wear, but I'm still amazed to see anything going in after all this time!

Annik06

If you want to keep it, all you have to do it place a retainer in it.. it won't close your hole.. and there's nothing there to hit on your teeth and gums so they can heal.. so when you want to use it for occasions ;-) you can! that's what I do

luppic8

My daughter's healed in about four to five datys...I guess it depends on how quickly each person heals in general!

humanskin

I've had mine for 12 years and I can leave my bar out for 3-4 days at a time, but the space is noticeably tighter around the barbell by the end of the third day. If you want to keep the piercing, go with the clear retainer like hush7hush suggested. They lay flat against your tongue so it does minimal damage to your gums and the roof of your mouth.

Also, choosing the right size barbell is a BIG help with receding gums. If the barbell is too large for your mouth, you're going to cause damage. If your dentist is noticing the effects, consider the retainer and getting a smaller barbell for when you do want your piercing in.

foreverloved

My ex had his for 5 years..he couldn't get it back in after 3 or 4 days. It was totally healed in about a week.

Same thing happened to my BF, he was just wanting a break from it for a few days and then couldn't get it back in!

Jellyphant

I'm not even kidding when I say that I had to take mine out for a dentist appointment and within a few HOURS, it was already almost halfway closed. I know this because I tried to put it in afterwards (4+ hours later), I had to push it through and reopen it, which triggered that wonderful swelling and all.

Soooo I dunno about you or anyone else, but mine healed like Wolverine or something.

remembertheharddrive

For those that suggested a retainer, I already wear one most of the time for my job and to prevent accidental biting - I'm going on 3-4 years now with that in. It doesn't seem to have reduced the progress of gum recession, however. She said that they don't have a complete understanding of why the gum line does this, since I had asked her the same thing - was the ball on the bottom? That would make the most sense.

I should probably just give it up, since I suspect I'm getting a little too old for tongue piercings, but after so long it's part of me - my mouth is very attached to its little plastic friend. My tongue feels empty and alone (cue violins.) Up until now, the longest I've left it out for approx 48 hours. It would be lovely if I could just toss it in for one night a week or something. Obviously my dental health is far more important than having a bejeweled tongue though...

reesepieces

I think mine healed within a week, it didn't take it long at all.

Mine did too...about a week.

remembertheharddrive

I've had mine for 12 years and I can leave my bar out for 3-4 days at a time, but the space is noticeably tighter around the barbell by the end of the third day. If you want to keep the piercing, go with the clear retainer like hush7hush suggested. They lay flat against your tongue so it does minimal damage to your gums and the roof of your mouth.

Also, choosing the right size barbell is a BIG help with receding gums. If the barbell is too large for your mouth, you're going to cause damage. If your dentist is noticing the effects, consider the retainer and getting a smaller barbell for when you do want your piercing in.

My barbell is already 3/5 inch long - it started to grow out a few months after I first had it done, so I dropped down the shortest length I could find as part of the solution. Maybe I could drop it down to 1/2 inch if I did some searching. There is very little "extra" room as it is, unfortunately. It's good to hear that shorter length may improve gum recession. At this point, though, it sounds like I'm already doing what everyone has suggested - it may be time to give up, if rotating it out for several days at a time doesn't help.

healthyjen342

they close up pretty fast...I have had mine for sheesh...8 years now? I would suggest going to claire's or something and getting the spacer..which serves the purpose you are looking for...it it just long enough to fit through the tongue..it doesnt have a ball on top or bottom...

powersurges

I had the same information from my dentist about the lower gum. I didn't want to take it out (I know that sounds silly) so I went to a piercing store and bought a new bar. What you can get is the bar that has a flat edge which most wear on top as you know so it is flush with your tongue. I flipped it upside down. The flat side on the bottom and the ball on top. It doesn't rub on the bottom at all of your mouth. I just broke mine and put the old bar back in. I need to go to the shop again soon and get a new one. I don't want my teeth falling out either!
I have had mine going on 15 years

remembertheharddrive

I had the same information from my dentist about the lower gum. I didn't want to take it out (I know that sounds silly) so I went to a piercing store and bought a new bar. What you can get is the bar that has a flat edge which most wear on top as you know so it is flush with your tongue. I flipped it upside down. The flat side on the bottom and the ball on top. It doesn't rub on the bottom at all of your mouth. I just broke mine and put the old bar back in. I need to go to the shop again soon and get a new one. I don't want my teeth falling out either!
I have had mine going on 15 years

That's a fantastic idea, flipping it. The retainer I have is one-sided flat too. The right/perfect jewelry is so hard to find. A ball that doesn't loosen, the short length, made from teflon, not metal, flat heads...oy.

yaitzae1

everybody's different...i've been without mine for a week now and still intact...one of my friends had it off for almost a year and one day she just went an bought a new piercing and she slide it in like nothing happened....

donna1981xx

I'm seriously thinking I'm a freak after reading this!! I had my tongue pierced 15 years ago, I took it out 5 years ago because I thought I was too grown up for it now. Today I found my old tongue bar out of curiosity I tried it...it went in!! 5 years out and its not closed up!! I'm in shock...I'm dying to try out all my other old body piercings now!! (Also all removed 5 years ago)Lol

drahz

I think it depends on if you kept the original 18 gauge you got priced with or if you put a larger on in, and also how much you played with it. I had my piercing done in 2000(12 year from the day this was written) and took it out in 2004 when I joined the army. I was able to put it back in the 6 months after basic and AIT with some discomfort but had to take it out again after a week because I got in to trouble with my command. Now it's been over 6 years and last Friday(July 21, 2012) , out of boredom, I decided to take a look at my hole and realized that it never fully closed and that there was only a small amount of scar tissue there in the middle of the piercing location. after some gradual fiddling, and proper sterilization, I was able to pop a very small barbell back in and have since gone up back up to a 14g. I originally had a 12g when I took it out, but I played with the piercing so much when I first had it that I don't think it will ever fully close.
I'm currently treating it like a new piercing and avoiding milk and rinsing after eating, and using Gly oxide once a day to remove debris. Surprisingly the piercing doesn’t hurt at all, but my pallet, gums, and the soft under part of my tongue where your saliva glands reside are sore from the barbell's presence and the rubbing. Motrin or aspirin, and popsicles are doing the trick for pain management. I can't wait till I get back to the 12g it was so much more comfortable.

One other note: after having the barbell back in I notice that my bite was fixed! For the last year or so my teeth were moving in and crowding my tongue and the barbell's presence has made my mouth wider again. go figure!

I'll post again soon to contribulate to the conversation since it appears I'm the more experienced like donna1981xx. I'll also be consulting with a piercer today.

drahz

I just got off the phone and was told that i was doing everything right by treating my tongue as if it was new.
Also, she wasnt remotly surprised by the length of time i had it out. The only thing she did say wich i didnt follow was to use "sterilized" jewlrey. I starilized my old barbel by boiling it for 45 minutes and soaking it alcohol, and he's right that that was risky. what the pircer was saying she has is sterilized in the same way medical instraments are to eliminate the possibility of contaminated jewlrey, but in my case there was no blood so i doubt it will be an issue.

Good to know though, and i recomend doing what the pircer said. So, if i dont post again it either went well or i'm dead

annihilatedd

Hey guys so now idk if this is an old thread or if anyone will see this, but ive had my piercing for three years or so and on four seperate occassions ive left it out for over a week, today it has been over two weeks and it went half way woth no resistance and a little push and its through minimal pain ZERO soreness no tissueextruded. So idk maybe im a mutant i can tell its healing and it doesnt slide right in, but i can go seven days pop the bar through and go another seven repeating the process efectively having no tongue ring at any time but i keep the hole for that special occassion