"The barbell is never removed because the tongue is so vascular that leaving the stud out can result in healing of the opening in the tongue, said Tabbaa, "so it makes perfect sense that constant pushing of the stud against the teeth-every day with no break-will move them or drive them apart."
The patient provided the research team with photos that demonstrated she had no diastema, or space, prior to having her tongue pierced. For the purposes of treating this patient's space, it was assumed that positioning of the tongue stud between the maxillary central incisors or "playing" caused the midline space.
Her treatment involved a fixed braces appliance to push the front teeth back together.
Tongue piercing can result in serious injury not just to teeth but has also been associated with hemorrhage, infection, chipped and fractured teeth, trauma to the gums and, in the worst cases, brain abscess, said Tabbaa.
The study has been published in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics.
Source-ANI