60秒科学:小舌钉引发大牙缝

给舌头打洞装舌钉常常会导致口腔感染，牙齿的磨损与破损，或是口腔外伤。那位女生后来呢？ 她戴上了牙套用以把两颗门牙重新矫正回去，这可没舌钉那么帅了吧。

That’s what it might sound like if I had a tongue stud, hitting my teeth. Maybe you’ve seen people with studs in their tongue clicking it up against their front teeth, a move known as “playing.” But it turns out that the habit may destroy some smiles.

University of Buffalo¹ researchers noticed that local high school students who had a barbell-type tongue stud commonly pushed the piercings against their front teeth. Then they examined a 26-year-old patient at the school’s dental clinic. She’d had been complaining about a large gap that had developed between her front two teeth. Seven years previously², she got a tongue stud. And every day, for seven years, she pushed that stud up against her teeth.

The researchers say tongues are strong, and it makes sense that the force of “playing” will move teeth, even forcing them apart. The case was written up in the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics.

Tongue piercings have also been associated with infections, chipped or broken teeth, and gum trauma³. And the patient? She got braces⁴ to push her teeth back together. Which probably didn’t look quite as cool as she thought the tongue stud was.

—Cynthia Graber
 

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

4 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。