Clear aligners are an ideal form of treatment for someone whose dental misalignment is mild to moderate. The aligners are transparent and slip right over your teeth, making them less invasive than receiving traditional dental braces. But even when these aligners are the best course of action to correct your orthodontic issue, there might be an issue that can considerably complicate things. This issue is any sort of tongue piercing.

Incompatible

The incompatibility of traditional braces and tongue piercings is probably quite apparent. The rigid piercing will make regular contact with the metal brackets, archwire, and attachments of your braces, with your poor teeth caught in the middle. It's even possible for a tongue piercing to damage your braces. But surely this isn't the case with clear aligners?

Bone Remodeling

Clear aligners are a tough thermoplastic ridge that fits over your teeth, with the aligners being switched out to one with a slightly different arrangement, allowing consistent pressure to be exerted upon your teeth during the course of your treatment. This treatment encourages bone remodeling, where your jaw permits the movement of your teeth, while slowly remodeling itself around this new dental configuration. Despite the fact that your teeth will be somewhat protected by the clear aligner, this doesn't mean that your treatment is compatible with a tongue piercing.  

Your Gums

Remember that your aligners will fit over your teeth, offering no protection to your gums from contact with the piercing. Your gums will also be under extra strain due to the bone remodeling process, meaning that any abrasion caused by the piercing has the potential to cause considerable damage. The friction caused by the piercing rubbing against your gingival tissues can contribute to irritation and erosion of these tissues. This is bad for your teeth at the best of times but is unacceptable when you need orthodontic treatment.

Priorities

It might be that your orthodontist will be reluctant to treat you when you have a tongue piercing, simply due to the added constraint of the piercing, which can disrupt the progress of your orthodontic work. It's a matter of priorities. The successful realignment of your teeth and all the lifelong benefits that this will bring should be more important than a piercing. Your orthodontist may advise you to remove it, and this is advice you should follow. It will be strongly recommended that you don't reinstall the piercing once your treatment has concluded. This is in the best interests of your dental health, however, that might be a discussion for a later time.

As much as you love your piercing, you probably love your teeth more. Unfortunately, clear aligners are simply not compatible with tongue piercings. For more information on clear aligners, contact a company like The Dental Boutique.