Be careful with picking a piercer. As long as you go to a well reputed piercer that knows what they are talking about/doing, then you are fine. Avoid heavy spices and citrus for about a week or until you feel ready.

Proper placement will reduce chances of risks such as gum erosion and chipped teeth. Also using softer ends once the piercing heals will make biting down on your barbell as pleasant as possible.

Proper aftercare (no alchol and no overcleaning) will make for a happy piercing. Trying as hard as possible not to play with the jewelry will also lessen chances of tearing and scarring.

I've had 3, soon to be 4 tongue piercings and the only times they touch my teeth is when I want them to. If you go to a good piercer, they'll sort out proper placement so that erosion/chipping/biting the bar (now *that's* difficult to do by accident) don't happen very often.

And Tigerlily, I've never had a problem with any food other than bananas (oddly enough) which get lodged on the top balls and are...uncomfortable :p

And Caramel apples, caremello candy bars, caramel in general with a tongue piercing has been weird for me. But maybe that's a sign....

'Rista, to avoid swallowing or aspirating the jewelry, only wear good quality jewelry & check for tightness daily. I do a daily check on all of mine after my shower. It's part of my ritual now.

Proper placement is important in reducing the chances of chipping. I agree with UNL. The only time the balls touch my teeth is when I want them to. It's also important to downsize the bb. Too long of a bar will increase your chances of chipping or biting down on it.

And Tigerlily, I have had a bad experience with spagetti. It got wrapped around the bb & was hanging down my throat. It made me gag, but I never thought I was going to swallow my tongue.

Yeah, I have had the experience with the stringy cheese from pizza but like darkside said, I have never felt like I was in danger of swallowing my tongue. It just creates a weird sensation, one in which you don't care to repeat if at all possible.
I also have not had any problems with the balls hitting my teeth or anything unless I choose for them to. Once you can reduce the size of the barbell it makes thing sooooooooo much better.
Rista, I am really glad my post helped you. Before I got my tongue done I was thinking about it so much and researching it everyday and realzied, as others have said, it was something missing from me.
In addition, my boyfriend was unsure about the whole idea of it but tagged along with me when I got it done and thought it was pretty cool that I went through with it. Oh, and now he LOVES that I have it done....for reasons we all know about.
If you are now sure you want to get it done I say go for it. Take your friend who wants one with you and let her watch as you get pierced. Then she can decide from what she sees and how you react if she wants to go through with it. If she decides not to, then you will still love what you got and had the opportunity to educate your friend in the process. The time might not be right for her but if she is thinking about it, then it sure wouldn't hurt for her to actually see what the process would be. GOOD LUCK!

Maybe you could tell your dad you have strep throat and need a few days off...

I may tell my dad that i am sick and take a few days off. But I really don't think he'll care. Of course, if he does, I could always show him my tattoo! Redirect the anger,
Technically, I wouldn't be totally lying. Kinda hard to answer the phone in a professional manner if my tongue is swollen.How hard is it to talk? Is it a huge difference, or is it just more difficult? Did any of you have jobs where you dealt with people, and was it hard to talk to those people without them noticing? And from what I've read, there are things I can do to reduce the swelling. And maybe it won't swell up that much to begin with : crosses fingers :

As far as aspiration and all those other problems, I kinda figured it was due to the care, placing and qualifications of your piercer. Most of the sites I found the info on were sites discouraging tongue piercing. So, I wanted to hear what those with tongue piercings had to say about it. And thank you so much-now, I can't wait to get it done!

Its not so much the welling but its your mouth getting used to this peice of metal jammed thru your tongue. It makes you lisp and till u learn to speak with it even after the swelling goes down you still may talk funny. My swelling lasted a bit more then a week but I believe i lisped for about 2 weeks or so. It really does just depend on the person.

I wouldnt lie to your dad and say you are sick. If hes gonna get mad then just tell him. I know my mom would rather me be up front and honest with her rather then lie to her face about something. Hell Im 35 and she still gets pissed when I get tats and piercings. But I do it and she gets over it. I just give her the respect and tell her so shes not shocked when she sees something new on me ANd ya again Im 35 but im still her lil girl

I won't lie to him-your right. All it would do is piss him off more. I'll just get it done and if he notices, he notices. He'll huff and puff, but that will be about it. But, yeah, I know what you mean about being your mom's girl-I will be my parent's baby until I die. And they really have our best interests at heart-they just don't always show it in the best way. And thanks for the advice!

Permanent lisping probably couldn't happen unless something really went wrong, cuz your mouth really can adapt to things. When I had to wear a retainer I would lisp for a few minutes whenever I put it in until my mouth got used to it, and again for a few minutes whenever I took it out. I didn't even have to think about it, my mouth just figured it out.

I do have one question, tho, can you all still roll your r's with your tongue pierced?