Ear Piercing

We can provide your child a safer, more comfortable and more sanitary alternative to the mall or jewelry stores. The method we use (the Blomdahl Medical Ear Piercing System) is available only to medical providers. Blomdahl is a sterile system in which a disposable cartridge is replaced with every piercing, using medical grade plastic or titanium studs to reduce the chance of allergic reactions. At our office, your child will have professional care from providers trained in sterile technique and wound care management. You also have access to medical professionals for any questions, problems or concerns before, during and after the procedure.

The Blomdahl System is the preferred ear piercing system for medical professionals. It is unique in that the earrings that your child’s ears will be pierced with an earring that is slightly thicker than typical earrings. This will ensure good healing, and as that healing process sets in, the earring holes will not close/seal off. Of note - when you remove these initial “starter earrings” after 6-10 weeks, you cannot reuse these earrings. You may purchase other pairs of Blomdahl earrings (made from the same medical grade plastic or titanium materials) from our clinic or purchase your own pair of earrings elsewhere to replace these starter earrings. 

We will do our best to minimize discomfort related to ear piercing. If you would like to use a prescription strength numbing cream before the procedure, you may let us know when you make the appointment. If you are an active patient at our practice, we can send in a prescription for EMLA to your pharmacy and it can be applied prior to the procedure. EMLA will not be available on the day of the procedure in the office, as it needs to be in place for at least 45 minutes to work. See below for instructions.

YES. We offer ear piercings for infants 3 months to 10 months, and for children 5 years of age and older. This ensures that infants have received their first set of vaccines, including DTaP, and allows the ear to grow big enough for more accurate placement of the earring.

 After 10 months of age, children are more active - making the actual piercing experience more difficult and less safe. Toddlers are also more prone to picking at the earrings, making them more susceptible to infection.

Infants are held in their parent's arms during the procedure and the worst part for them is when their head must be held still - most babies cry only briefly. For children over 5 years of age, it is important that the child has requested to have their ears pierced and you as the Parent/Guardian have agreed. The child needs to be able to sit still during the procedure and has to allow and/or participate in responsible after-care to ensure a good outcome. The child will sit beside the parent and will lean against the parent's shoulder. Teens able to do so will simply sit calmly on their own.

 We will not hold an older child down for this procedure as it is an elective cosmetic procedure. The staff reserves the right to cancel a procedure if they feel the situation may become unsafe due to the child's inability to cooperate.

We only pierce earlobes at this time. We will do multiple piercings per earlobe. We do not pierce cartilage or other body parts. 

How much does it cost?

The total cost is $125 to pierce whether you are having one or both ears pierced.

The payment includes the ear piercing stud made of medical grade plastic or titanium, the cost of the ear-piercing procedure (including equipment used) by the Provider and an after-care kit.

We require a prepayment of $25 to hold your appointment slot, which will be applied to the final cost. The $100 balance will be due when you check out from your ear piercing appointment. 

Since this is a cosmetic procedure, it is not covered by your insurance and it will not be billed to your insurance. 

You will have the option to purchase other medical grade plastic or titanium Blomdahl earrings at any time as well. 

Call today! You may schedule an Ear-Piercing Visit with NP Ashleigh Catton or Dr Molly Jonna. This must be done separately from a well visit or a visit for another concern and cannot be added onto a current visit. We also cannot address any other medical questions, sign forms etc during this visit. As noted above, there will be a $25 fee to hold your appointment.

What if I need to cancel?

We understand that plans change but we are also a medical practice dedicated to being available to our patients. Holding an appointment for ear piercing makes this time not available for well visits or medication check ups. For this reason we cannot refund your prepayment if you cancel or reschedule.   

Before we begin the procedure, the Parent/Guardian will be asked to sign an Informed Consent Form which reviews the risks listed below.

1.   Infection--There is a risk of infection anytime the skin is broken. We reduce this risk significantly by using sterile, single-use piercing cassettes. This also eliminates any cross-contamination because only the sterile, single-use part of the equipment ever comes in contact with the skin at the piercing site. We then provide specific After-Care Instructions to keep the piercing clean and healthy during the healing process.

2.   Pain--Even without numbing cream, the pain is brief and similar to a vaccine injection. Some patients may complain of a warm, flushed feeling on their earlobes after the procedure. As noted above, EMLA numbing cream can be prescribed ahead of time in order to further reduce the pain if so desired.

3.   Bleeding--There is a risk of bleeding anytime the skin is broken. However, the earlobes do not contain large blood vessels so that this risk is minimal.

4.   Nickel Allergy– Nickel is one of the most common causes of Allergic Contact Dermatitis (an itchy rash that occurs when your skin comes in contact with a typically harmless substance). Once you develop a nickel allergy, you will always be sensitive to it. Nickel is commonly used as a metal hardener, so most metals used for ear piercing contain just enough nickel to trigger a potential allergic reaction. Fresh piercings allow direct and constant contact between a minor open wound and the metal which contains the nickel. However, the Blomdahl Ear Piercing studs utilize only medical grade plastic or medical grade titanium to completely eliminate the risk of nickel allergy.

5.   Keloids--Keloids are shiny, smooth and rounded skin elevations, which are a type of scar tissue, which can form at the piercing site in some patients after the earlobe piercing because of altered wound healing. Keloids tend to run in some families, are more likely to occur in patients with darker skin pigmentation, and generally occur in people 10 to 30 years of age. 

**Please inform us if your child has any health conditions that could cause excessive bleeding, difficulty fighting infections or keloid scar formation**

Apply EMLA 30-60 minutes before your child’s piercing by placing a large “blob” of the cream to both the front and the back of the ear lobe. Cover the cream with a layer of plastic wrap or a Band Aide with adhesive on all 4 sides to keep it in place. Leave the cream in place until your appointment 

For 6-8 weeks wash your ears twice a day, morning and night. Wash your hands and then use liquid soap to wash the front and back of the earlobe and the jewelry. Rinse thoroughly with clean running water. Dry with a tissue or Q-tip. 

Use a Blomdahl Piercing Aftercare cleansing swab to clean between your ear and the earring back and front earring as needed. This is for build up around the earrings as the piercing heals and does not need to be performed daily, only as needed. 

You can bathe and shower, but we recommend no swimming for 2 weeks after piercing

After 6-8 weeks you can change the jewelry. We recommend using high quality metal in all your jewelry. If there is concern for infection or irritation, call our office. This can sometimes occur after changing the jewelry if low quality metals are used. 

It takes up to a year before the holes are completely healed. We recommend always wearing earrings for the first year. If you use earrings with earring backs these should not be pressed tightly against the back of the ear as this can increase the risk of embedding.