Does Piercing Your Tongue Kill Taste Buds?

Tongue piercings rarely leave any scars or marks when removed. In fact, they can close very quickly. Tongue piercings affect your taste buds or damage the vallate papillae. This is false.

Can you lose taste tongue piercing?

What happens then? There can be permanent nerve damage or inflammation at the piercing site. Some people even lose some of their taste buds because of the piercing damage to the tongue. It is even possible for a piercing parlour to damage the tongue to the point of permanent numbness.

Does a tongue piercing change your taste buds?

Can I lose my sense of taste? Grade school science class taught us that our tongue is covered with hundreds of taste buds, not just one or two. ... Plus, most of your tasting is done with the edges of your tongue anyway. So no, a tongue piercing will not cause you to lose your sense of taste.

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Consumer Tech & Gadget Reviewer

Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.