>From as far back as my brain can pull up memories, I've always strived to be unique in every conceivable aspect of my life. In my eyes, there is not much worse than being just another faceless person in the crowd. This mind set would eventually lead me to my interest in body modification, and more specifically, in unusual piercings. It wasn't long after, I was using them as a tool to set my self apart from the rest of the herd. Though admittedly, in this modern day and age, there is certainly nothing unique about piercings, in that everyone and their mom has a face full of piercings. Instead I make sure all of my modification decisions are highly personalized and do my best to be an individual and express who I am. Atypical piercings assist me in defining myself. I'm not just talking about esthetics either -- they can have a much more profound impact on a much deeper level than simply through flesh. Psychosomatic or not, the effects are real and they have drastically changed my life for the better.
At A Glance Author Nick Iannetti Contact Nick Iannetti@bme.anon IAM razorwrists When A year ago Artist Mark Pantalone Studio INNERSOUL Location Bellmawr, NJ In June of 2004 I got my mandible pierced. I'm not really sure why I chose to get this particular piercing -- I guess it just appealed to me on some level, like most things in my life.
There aren't many resources online detailing this piercing so my research of it wasn't too successful. Instead I went around to all of the reputable piercers in my area to get their thoughts on it. The general consensus among nearly all of the piercers I spoke to was that it was a bad idea, and I should really reconsider going through with it, followed by their flat-out refusal to do it. Unshaken and still determined, I eventually came across Mark, who having done a couple of deep oral piercings before, his demeanor was pretty much the opposite of everyone else I encountered. He spoke very "matter of fact" about it like it was no big thing to him. We talked about the procedure and healing for a while and then I left to let the idea stir in my head for a while. A couple weeks later I returned, ready to go.
After the everything was set up I sat in the piercing chair for a couple minutes mentally preparing myself, as I always do before getting work done. Once ready, I signaled to Mark who was waiting patiently. Mark attached the 13 gauge, 2 1/2 inch long piece of blue nylon monofilament directly to the 12 gauge needle to make for a smooth insertion, and because the amount of tissue being pierced was longer than actual needle itself so he would need something to push it the rest of the way through with. With one continuous motion he pierced through the tissue and inserted the jewelry, leaving about 3/4 of an inch of monofilament sticking out the bottom to accommodate for swelling. It probably took about 2 full seconds to do, and was noticeably more time consuming than most other piercings I've had, but considering the amount of tissue being pierced, this was expected.
Though it was never a deciding factor, nor was it anything that was even particularly important to me, most people inquiring about it want to know how bad it hurt, so I'll do my best to relate the amount of pain I experienced. I felt the cold steel of the needle penetrate the soft tissue underneath my tongue. The sensation I felt was comparable to my tongue web piercing but at least twice as painful. I'm sure pain was written all over my face, as is depicted in pictures. There was virtually no sensation as the needle passed through the deep layers of my jaw. All I felt was tension building up until the needle finally burst through my upper neck. By this time however,the endorphins had started to kick in so it was slightly less painful than the initial penetration. Overall, I'd say this piercing is about as painful as you might imagine it to be, and as such is not for the faint of heart. I don't think I'd want to go through it again. As a point of trivia, and to try and give you a better understanding of the level of pain, I maintain that both my 6mm dermal punched conch and my 8 gauge apadravya were more painful. Another thing to consider would be how awkward it is having a large mans hands in your mouth while being in significant pain, and unable to shout or swear or even grit your teeth.
Because the jewelry was slightly smaller than the needle, it bled excessively. I could taste the blood filling my mouth and feel it flowing down my neck. After several minutes, the bleeding slowed and Mark cleaned me up and had me rinse my mouth out. At this point I excitedly checked it out in the mirror and was very pleased with what I saw. We discussed the aftercare regime I would be following in depth. He explained that I was to treat this as two separate piercings in that I would be using Biotene to rinse my mouth out a couple times a day (after meals, etc), and H2Ocean under my chin. I hung out at the shop for a while, we took some pictures, then I went on my way, smiling ear to ear.
Over the following 48 hours it swelled quite considerably, leaving very little of the excess monofilament sticking out. The swelling lasted for the duration of the first month, and only after it went completely down was I able to get the excess monofilament "trimmed up" to fit more snuggly against my skin. Rather than removing the bar and causing unneeded trauma to the healing fistula, Mark simply took a dremel and shaved away the bar. I should note that even now, after 9 months with this piercing, there is still a bit of room to accommodate for swelling, so in the event that I get a cold or whatever and my throat swells, it won't be too tight.
I couldn't eat solid foods for a good 24 hours, as it was much too painful. I tried eating tiny bites of a grilled cheese sandwich, but all I was successful in doing was inciting heavy bleeding. The bleeding stopped after a couple days, but for several weeks I had to take ridiculously small bites of food and be extremely careful not to hit it while chewing. After about 2 months I was able to resume my normal eating habits.
Despite Marks experience with the piercing, there are several unexpected side effects from this piercing that I don't think even he foresaw. Unbeknownst to me at the time, by getting this piercing, I've essentially nailed my tongue to the bottom of my mouth. With my webbing completely immobilized, my tongues versatility and overall length have been greatly reduced. This is something you should really consider before doing this, especially if your tongue is something you get use from. Also my pre-existing tongue web piercing has sunk deeper into the bottom of my mouth, making it so if I ever wanted to remove it, I'd probably have to get it cut out.
I'd say the shock-value of this piercing is pretty high up there, so if you're into being an attention whore, this piercing is probably for you. A spectacle is made over it in most social environments I enter. Being a relatively shy person, It definitely took some getting used to. Now every time I go to a party or pretty much any public place for that matter, people will stop me and ask to see the inside of my mouth, or they just gasp and say "Oh my god, does that go all the way through!?". It can get annoying at times, like when people interrupt me mid-conversation to ask me about it, or stop me from walking at inappropriate times, but I always do my best to be friendly and answer their questions as best as I can.
As I write this, it's been about 9 months since I first got it pierced and I can definitively say, this piercing is NOT fully healed and I have serious doubts as to whether it will ever be fully healed. While it doesn't hurt at all, and I can play with it uneventfully, I still suffer greatly with a bad case of the weepy horrors. It tends to ooze quite a bit and get a build up of crusty lymph. At various times, especially during periods of heavy jaw movement (i.e. eating) the oozing can get more dramatic. If I had to describe the "ooze", I'd say it pretty closely resembles "snot" both in color and texture. I've also noticed that when my own health deteriorates, like when I have a cold for instance, the piercing flares up and is generally irritated. On several occasions it stopped draining properly, (I'm assuming this was because of the poor health I was experiencing at the time), and an abscess built up around the base of the piercing under my chin which had to be manually drained by squeezing it until it eventually burst like a great geyser, squirting what seemed like a mixture of blood and bile all over my sink.
I cannot stress enough -- while this can be a highly rewarding piercing, it is also extremely high maintenance. It requires constant care and needs to be cleaned several times daily for at least the first year, if not indefinitely. If you do not grok the fundamental concepts behind healing advanced piercings or are too lazy to adhere to an exhaustive aftercare regime, than this piercing is not for you.
Overall, getting my mandible pierced was, and continues to be, a very rewarding experience. Despite it's drawbacks, I'm absolutely in love with it, and I'm glad I went through with it, as it continues to aid me in being the individual that I want to be.