A Scoop piercing and a Snake-Eye piercing are two oral piercings that you should never consider. They are both essentially the same piercing just in different placements on the tongue, and they have very similar complications. I am not an expert in the human body’s anatomy, but I will do my best to be as accurate as possible from the knowledge I have from the extensive research I have done.
What is a scoop piercing?
A scoop piercing is a surface piercing going horizontal on the top of your tongue. A Snake-Eye Piercing is a piercing that goes horizontally through the tip of your tongue.
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Scoop Tongue Piercing -
Snake-Eye Tongue Piercing
In a traditional tongue piercing, you can see the lingual artery by looking under the tongue. When you are going horizontally, you can not see the arteries or veins. It is a much higher risk of puncturing them when a piercer is blindly piercing through the tongue. If you do puncture the artery, you could have massive oral bleeding, possibly causing choking and potentially surgery to repair the damage.
When getting a scoop piercing the piercer may easily slide through the most important veins of your tongue. Piercing professionals will definitely know the anatomy of your tongue and should never do a scoop piercing.
Scoop Piercing Complications
Assuming your piercing goes well with no complications during the piercing process, there are even more issues that can arise after. Your tongue is made up of mussels. There are four main groups in the tongue. The Styloglossus muscles are the muscles that allow you to retract and elevate. The genioglossus allows you to roll, bend, flatten, and fold the tongue. There are two sets of each of these muscles. That is how when someone gets their tongue split; they are able to move both sides of their tongue individually.
With both of these piercings, you are binding those separate muscles, not allowing them to move independently. It could cause you to develop a lisp and make it difficult to chew and swallow food. The tissue in your tongue is much softer than other places you would do a conventional surface piercing, and it has a much higher chance of migration and rejection. You could be left with a split in your tongue or a large scar.
The normal placement of a tongue piercing
A typical tongue piercing is a vertical piercing generally in the center but can also be placed on the sides of the tongue. When the piercing is in the center, the bar is at the furthest possible point from your teeth and gums in hopes that you will not have issues. However, you always need to be careful with your oral piercings as they could all possibly cause damage to your teeth and gums. We, as piercers, do try to give you the best results by giving you proper placement and correct fitting jewelry.
And even more…
With the Snake-eye piercing, it sits right on the back of your teeth and gums, causing gum erosion over time, and it has a very high risk of chipping or breaking a tooth. What starts off as a fun piercing usually ends with thousands of dollars in dental work…
