Labret Nesting

Hi Amanda

The size of the jewellery does not make sense, 6 8" is quite long and should not be exerting that much pressure but if it was 1 4" then the jewellery could cause the nesting as you describe.

We have not only heard of such a problem your dentist is concerned with but have seen it first hand.  The cause is difficult to say but can be from bad placement of the piercing, or playing with the piercing to the point of irritating it that causes swelling which will put pressure on the inside resulting in nesting.

Using a circular barbell may help take the pressure off the piercing but may cause teeth damage, the size of the barbell is our concern.  It should be about 5 16" in diameter to reduce teeth damage.

If you do not wish to have the tissues seal in the back of your jewellery, we recommend finding a piece of jewellery that will fit into the piercing without putting pressure on it.  As well as leaving the piercing alone and not playing with it.  We know that this could be a problem because of the length of time you have had it.  If these measures are not helpful, we recommend following your dentist advice and remove the jewellery.

Good luck

You're right.  I measured wrong.  The actual length is 7 16".  That's from plate to just below the threading which is still pretty long isn't it?  I didn't ever have to get another piece after piercing and wear the piece that was put in following piercing.  That likely means that the original piece was too short for the thickness of my lip then doesn't it?  How long should I wait before repiercing it if I choose to let it close up?  I don't want to go through healing again, but if I do then I need my nest to close up too don't I?  Will that ever happen after this amount of time?

There is a good chance that the back button of the labret could be too small.  The size of the back is important to stabalize the tissues in the mouth.

It may be better if you can find a piece of jewellery that has a larger backing on it to reduce the 'nesting' with the old one.

Since your piercing is 5 years old, there is a good chance that it will not close up but shrink from the lack of jewellery.  So if you removed the jewellery for a little while, you could insert another piece of jewellery without any problem.

The inside tissues are very lable and heal quite quickly, think about biting the inside of your cheek, it heals within a few days.

Good luck and keep in touch.

First of all, my apologize for my bad English.
I've had a Labret piercing for a few weeks now, and at the very moment i got it, i could feel that the yewelry was too small for my lip, and giving pressure.. i figured it wouldn't get much worse.. after 3 days the back-plate was totally sunk in the inside of my lip.. and it hurted guite a bit.. as specially in the mornings after waking up, it hurts!
as i was saying.. after 3 days it had nestled in the inside of my lip, and i couldn't stand it any longer.. the enoying aching sence, and the tight feeling, making my lip swelling like double it's normal size..

i decided to go see a local piercer in my town, and she gave me a long labret made of PTFE (some kind of plastic?)..
the plate is bigger as well as the bar is longer. also the edges of the plate are more rounded then the one of my titanium labret, which i got from the piercer..

the minute i walked out i felt a huge relief, and the next day my lip shrunk to it's normal size.. i could only feel the slightest touch of swelling around the piercing, because of the fact that it hasn't really healed yet. no pain what so ever. not even with eating, drink and brushing my lower teeth and gums.. or smoking.. all the pain was gone! :D

now a few weeks later everything has healed.. i don't know how my pierce will be later, but i found my personal solution!

Two things were wrong. First, and most important, the initial jewelry placed in a fresh labret piercing should be oversized to accomodate any swelling. If the jewelry is too short, the pressure will cause additional injury, and more swelling, and it becomes a self-perpetuating condition. Second, titanium should NEVER be placed in a fresh piercing. It is fine after the piercing has healed. The new tissue being formed as a piercing heals will actually adhere to the titanium, and every time the jewelry is moved, the healing process has to begin again.

Although my personal bias is against plastic jewelry (I would have used surgical steel), I am not surprised at the dramatic improvement you experienced. Be aware, however, that the extra length can cause problems later. After the piercing has healed, get a labret that is fitted to the length of the piercing, and keep the end small and light. Heavy ends like long spike tend to pull the base further into the oral membranes. They are fine on occasion, but keep the jewelry comfortable for everyday wear.

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i just pierced my labret (did it myself) about two weeks ago, and initaly put a 14g 3/8" stainless steel bar and spike in in it. which fit fine at first, but after three or four days it was just too long, it kept getting caught on my teeth when i was eating and even with my face at a relaxed position there was a visable gap between the spike and my lip (or chin or whichever you'd call it)

so i bought the only smaller size i could find which is a 14g 1/4" titanium bar and spike, i got on ebay.

now to my question

i read a lot about them nesting, this one isnt nearly as sunk in as the ones i have read about, but it is still fairly sunk into my lip, the back is visable though. and i was wondering if its not suposed to be sunk in, or if its fine as long as it dosent sink in more