Get A Check-Up As You Pack Up For Your Dive Trip
Dental fillings which are not completely airtight or small cavities in the teeth can have painful consequences during the dive. When you ascend, the trapped air – whether in loose fillings or cavities – expand, and this pushes against the walls of the affected tooth, causing much pain. In extreme cases, the fillings or even the entire tooth may be literally blasted off.
In 2014, the Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine and Diving Expertise conducted a study involving 1,317 professional divers from the French Army. The results indicated that about five percent had suffered a dental barotrauma, in the form of fractures or loss of fillings. In 34 percent of the dives, the pain caused the dive to be terminated prematurely.
Nearly 90 percent of the divers (refers to the 5 percent) visited their dentist once a year and knew the importance of dental health in situations involving changing pressures. About 80 percent had informed their dentist about their work as a professional diver working under such conditions.
Dive Check And Dental CheckThe dental check before every dive trip should cover the following:
- Filling check: All fillings must be intact and completely sealed to exclude air pockets.
- X-rays of both jaws: X-rays can reveal weaknesses in teeth. If there is inflammation of the roots, the sinus cavity can become inflamed as well (as the tips of the roots are close to the maxillary sinuses). In addition, even 'dead teeth' that are rootless, can cause aggravation in conditions of changing pressure, causing extreme pain.
- Removable dentures: To prevent dentures from becoming loose and move backwards towards the throat, the base of the dentures should be regularly checked and corrected, if necessary.
If you didn't make it to your dentist - this is an alternative ;-)