When you want to go all-out on your lip piercing style, then you should consider the canine bite piercing.

The canine bite piercing is so-named because each piercing is located roughly where your canines are. It’s really a combination of the angel bite and spider bite piercing.

Offering bold looks and a style that can’t be ignored, the cyber bites piercing suits those who love facial piercings. However, they must be symmetrically placed, and if mixed with other lip piercing types, they can easily overpower your face, so there are a few things to think about before you decide on this piercing type.

Here’s everything you need to know about canine bites:

How Much Do Canine Bite Piercings Hurt?

Canine bite piercings shouldn’t hurt more than other lip piercing types; it falls about halfway on the pain scale.

Since you’re receiving four piercings at once, you will see substantial swelling, and you’ll feel more discomfort than if you were only getting one or two piercings. Additionally, it is possible for your body to go into mild shock after receiving too many piercings, so pay attention to what your body and your piercer tells you. If it’s too much to get all four done at once, you can wait a few days between piercing sessions.

Canine Bite Piercing Healing Process

Because of the number of piercings, the canine bite takes 8 - 12 weeks to heal. One of your biggest challenges during healing will be the substantial swelling that your lips will experience. The lips tend to swell more than other areas of the body, and since you will be undergoing four piercings on separate parts of the lip, swelling will be widespread and uncomfortable.

While possible to get all four piercings done at one, it could be a good idea to get either the angel bite or snake bite piercings and finish the canine bite once the first set of piercings have fully healed.

Aftercare Rules

Here are some tips to help your new canine bite piercing heal happily.

Take care when you eat. Your new jewelry will be extra long to accommodate swelling, and you’ll have to navigate four new metal pieces near the sides of your mouth where you chew. Think about switching to a soft food diet until swelling has gone down and you can have your piercer swap out your jewelry to something smaller. It’s incredibly easy to bite on your new jewelry, which could break your teeth.

Conduct sea salt soaks at least twice daily. Food debris, saliva, and other foreign contaminants can easily enter the piercing hole. The best way to flush these out is to dip your piercing in a sea salt bath or saline solution for 3 - 5 minutes. To wash the backs of your jewelry, gargle salt water, making sure to give special attention to the jewelry. Do not use mouthwash, since the alcohol in it will irritate your piercing and hurt really badly.

Try not to play with your jewelry. If you have a tendency to unconsciously play with your lips, then this will be an extra struggle for you. Moving the jewelry encourages piercing rejection and scarring, so you need to keep the jewelry as still as possible. 

Canine Bite Piercing Jewelry Styles

The vast number of piercings in this bite type allows for tons of jewelry options.

You can wear hoop styles like captive bead rings and seamless rings, circular barbells, or flat back labret studs in your canine bite piercing. 

The fun part is mixing those styles. Many choose to wear seamless rings on their bottom lip and flat back lip studs in their upper lip. If you want to really go bold, you can wear circular barbells in all four piercings. Be careful when choosing your jewelry for the canine bite piercing; it’s easy to overwhelm your face.

Why Shouldn’t I Get A Canine Bite Piercing?

If you have oral issues or you don’t keep up with oral hygiene, then you should stay away from any oral piercing. The bacteria in your saliva encourages infection, and with four new piercings, bad oral hygiene is asking for disaster.

If you have receding gum lines or enamel wear, choose a piercing away from your teeth. The jewelry will rub against your gums and teeth, making these issues worse.

Be careful with this piercing if you already have multiple facial piercings. We’re all about self expression, so if you’re shooting for an ultra-pierced look, we say go for it! However, if you want something subtler, then it’s really easy for this piercing combined with other lip and face piercing types to drown your face.

How Much Will It Cost?

You can expect to pay $30 - $60 for the canine bite piercing, not including the jewelry. It’s always important to choose a good piercer, but since this piercing depends upon symmetrical placement, you should find a reputable piercer who has experience with the canine bite piercing.