{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:45:06Z","timestamp":1787028306685,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,18]],"date-time":"2020-01-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1579305600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of the present study is to verify the knowledge of risks and complications of oral piercings, and to observe the main complications associated with piercings, using a sample from central Italy of patients wearing intraoral piercings. Through piercing and tattoo studios selected randomly in Rome, Latina and Campobasso, and a tattoo and piercing convention in Latina, a group of 387 individuals with oral piercings were selected and asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. After filling in questionnaires, 70 individuals of the 387 selected agreed to be visited to allow the observation of the integrity of their teeth and gums (especially close to the oral piercing), oral hygiene conditions, piercing cleaning, bad habits and gingival recession. Among the respondents, 46.8% said they had not been informed about these risks, 48.5% claimed not to clean the piercing, 70.6% stated that they had not been made aware of gingival problems that can arise, 60.4% subjects stated that they were not informed about the complications of piercings concerning teeth, 52.8% had insufficient oral hygiene conditions, 42% showed signs of generalised gingivitis, 20% had 3\u20134 mm recessions and 22% had tooth fracture(s) due to piercing. From this study, it emerged that oral piercings can represent a risk to oral health and that there is a widespread lack of awareness of the complications and correct methods of maintaining oral piercings. Periodic checks by both dentists and dental hygienists, for patients with oral piercings, could play a decisive role in preventing, intercepting and treating the complications that they can cause.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17020613","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,20]],"date-time":"2020-01-20T04:27:09Z","timestamp":1579494429000},"page":"613","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":28,"title":["Piercing and Oral Health: A Study on the Knowledge of Risks and Complications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Francesco","family":"Covello","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and MaxilloFacial Sciences, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Via Caserta 6, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Camilla","family":"Salerno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and MaxilloFacial Sciences, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Via Caserta 6, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valentina","family":"Giovannini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and MaxilloFacial Sciences, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Via Caserta 6, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7333-4106","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Denise","family":"Corridore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and MaxilloFacial Sciences, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Via Caserta 6, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7390-4316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Livia","family":"Ottolenghi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and MaxilloFacial Sciences, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Via Caserta 6, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8545-9889","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iole","family":"Vozza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and MaxilloFacial Sciences, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Via Caserta 6, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1177\/1757913912464835","article-title":"Just a personal thing? A qualitative account of health behaviors and values associated with body piercing","volume":"133","author":"Randall","year":"2013","journal-title":"Perspect. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"197","article-title":"Appearance and culture: Oral pathology associated with certain \u201cfashions\u201d (tattoos, piercings, etc.)","volume":"8","year":"2003","journal-title":"Med. Oral."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"506","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.bdj.4812852","article-title":"Dental and oral complications of lip and tongue piercings","volume":"199","author":"Hommez","year":"2005","journal-title":"Br. Dent. J."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1834-7819.2011.01647.x","article-title":"Dental and periodontal complications of lip and tongue piercing: Prevalence and influencing factors","volume":"57","author":"Plessas","year":"2012","journal-title":"Aust. Dent. J."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1007\/s00784-011-0510-6","article-title":"Long-term effects of tongue piercing\u2014A case control study","volume":"16","author":"Ziebolz","year":"2012","journal-title":"Clin. Oral Investig."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e413","DOI":"10.4317\/medoral.20487","article-title":"Awareness of complications and maintenance of oral piercing in a group of adolescents and young Italian adults with intraoral piercing","volume":"20","author":"Vozza","year":"2015","journal-title":"Med. Oral Patol. Oral Cir. Bucal"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"744","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tripleo.2010.07.012","article-title":"Awareness of complications of oral piercing in a group of adolescents and young South African adults","volume":"110","author":"Oberholzer","year":"2010","journal-title":"Oral Surg. Oral Med. Oral Pathol. Oral Radiol. Endod."},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"128","article-title":"Awareness of risks related to oral piercing in Italian piercers. Pilot study in Lazio Region","volume":"5","author":"Vozza","year":"2015","journal-title":"Ann. Stomatol. (Rome)"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"62","article-title":"The incidence of complications with lip and\/or tongue piercings: A systematic review","volume":"14","author":"Slot","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Dent."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"118","article-title":"The complication of oral piercing and the role of dentist in their prevention: A literature review","volume":"16","author":"Maspero","year":"2014","journal-title":"Stomatologija"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ziebolz, D., S\u00f6der, F., Hartl, J.F., Kottmann, T., Rinke, S., and Schmalz, G. (2019). Comprehensive assessment of dental behavior and oral status in patients with tongue-tracking results of a cross-sectional study. Clin. Oral Investig.","DOI":"10.1007\/s00784-019-03002-y"},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"318","article-title":"On the association between oral piercings and periodontal conditions-A case series","volume":"17","author":"Schmidt","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Dent."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-9657.2006.00493.x","article-title":"Labial piercing and localized periodontal destruction\u2014Partial periodontal regeneration following periodontal debridement and free gingival graft","volume":"24","author":"Kapferer","year":"2008","journal-title":"Dent. Traumatol."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"293","article-title":"Occurrence of Dental Injuries and Periodontal Complications in Tongue-piercing Jewelery Users","volume":"15","author":"Kosem","year":"2017","journal-title":"Oral Health Prev. Dent."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.3109\/00016357.2015.1114668","article-title":"Oral parafunctions, piercings and signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in high school students","volume":"74","author":"Ovesson","year":"2016","journal-title":"Acta Odontol. Scand."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1542\/pir.2016-0134","article-title":"Addressing Adolescent Oral Health: A Review","volume":"38","author":"Silk","year":"2017","journal-title":"Pediatr. Rev."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"294","DOI":"10.1111\/idj.12297","article-title":"Educational intervention about oral piercing knowledge among dental students and adolescents at schools","volume":"67","author":"Junco","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. Dent. J."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"168","article-title":"Oral piercing in athletes: Implications for general dentists","volume":"50","author":"McGeary","year":"2002","journal-title":"Gen. Dent."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"50","article-title":"Oral Jewelry and Piercing: Risks to Health","volume":"82","author":"Maitland","year":"2016","journal-title":"N. Y. State Dent. J."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"200","DOI":"10.4103\/jispcd.JISPCD_31_18","article-title":"Knowledge and Practices Related to Hepatitis B Infection among Dental and Oral Hygiene Students at a University in Pretoria","volume":"8","author":"Madiba","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Int. Soc. Prev. Community Dent."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/17\/2\/613\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,13]],"date-time":"2025-10-13T13:43:55Z","timestamp":1760363035000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/17\/2\/613"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,18]]},"references-count":20,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph17020613"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph17020613","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,18]]}}}