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...