Thank you, Hardball. I considered tiny wire brushes and other things that could abrade skin. But I settled on a new drill bit because of the comparative ease of sterilizing it, and the minimal risk of losing part of it inside the piercing. I didn't want to think how awkward it would be to explain the latter in an emergency room.

No piercings so can't comment on drill bits for the "Hardball process", but I have used them on many occasions to drill through a fingernail in order to release the pressure of a blood blister after an "ooops" with a hammer or other tool.... It looks freaky to do it, but really does work to fix the pain... (I'm told that it is essentially what the doc would do in ER, and DIY costs a whole lot less...)

I would say that I would definitely do something like that with my fingers, not any sort of power tool... If something starts to go wrong, it is easy to stop your fingers. Power tools are often much harder to stop before 'slightly wrong' turns into major disaster...

WheelyCurious