When a piercing heals it heals a tube of scar tissue around the jewelry, creating a channel for the jewelry to rest in. This channel is your piercing. But the jewelry often helps the piercing keep its shape. Scar tissue is not magical, so without the jewelry in the channel helping maintain that shape, often the channel will close together or shrink down with time without jewelry in. The jewelry is actively helping maintain the shape of the piercing channel, and without it, it shrinks or becomes smaller very easily. Sometimes, with sterile lube special for piercings, correct size Jewelry & some patients we can reopen your piercing. (No oral piercings)