Le complicanze del piercing orale e il ruolo dell'odontoiatra nella loro prevenzione : revisione della letteratura

Objectives The work reports about the complications of oral piercing and the role of dentist in their prevention. Materials and methods The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature through the Medline database by entering "oral piercing", "piercing and complications", "piercing and hygiene" as keywords. Articles published between 1988 and 2012 were considered. Results Oral piercing is linked to several potential complications. Many of them are due to scarce awareness of the risk, bad habits and inadequate oral care. Conclusions The dentist should motivate patients with oral piercing to maintain a good oral care, provide instructions and conduct periodic inspections to secure their understanding and implementation in order to prevent complications.