Braces and Regs

[goodknight411]

Hey everybody.
I got braces in January and haven't been diving since. Am I going to need a different mouth piece? I haven't tried mine :11: (I know, I know...) But has anyone had experience with this? Do the braces catch on your mouth piece?
Thanks

 

[Marek K]

Hey everybody.
I got braces in January and haven't been diving since. Am I going to need a different mouth piece? I haven't tried mine :11: (I know, I know...) But has anyone had experience with this? Do the braces catch on your mouth piece?
Thanks

Our 14-year-old got braces last year, just after finishing his OWD course. We then went for two weeks of diving at the Red Sea -- same mouthpiece. He said it felt a little funny at first, but then he got used to it and absolutely no problem.

--Marek

 

[emtdan]

I dived for 3 years with braces way back, ok, so not THAT way back. You dont need a new mouthpiece or anyting, but you should be very careful. Make sure that the "weight" of the mouthpiece is not on your front teeth, and that you dont bite too hard on the mouthpiece. I spend my first few dives with braces, holding the mouthpiece with my hand the whole dive.
Its not fun to go diving within 5 days of tightening, as well. Also, in rare cases, a bit of air can get trapped in between the bracket and the tooth itself. In that case, you will feel pressure, and pain when ascending.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I think you've got one of those mouthpieces that has the bit that goes against the roof of your mouth so you don't have to clamp down on it, don't you? (Did that make a lick of sense?)

If so you can just let that hold the reg in your mouth and relax your jaw.

dsaxe01: if that air gets between the bracket and the tooth, will it blow the bracket off? Or just leak out as you go up?

 

[theskull]

I had braces when young and was also a trumpet player. Hamburger lip was the painful result. BUT the orthodontist can provide you with a supple wax that you can mold over the sharp part of the braces where they will come in contact with your SCUBA mouthpiece to make the dive more comfortable for you. After your dives you can pull most of it out and get the rest with a toothpick or toothbrush.

Don't let your "appliances" interfere with your life! Bring concerns such as this to the attention of your ortho, he should have solutions for most all of them after years of dealing with patients and their lifestyles.

theskull

 

[emtdan]

teknitrox,
heres the short answer: it depends on how much air is trapped, and what depths you are at.
Here is the long(er) answer: The air in between the bracket and tooth compresses on desent, and the bracket may shift on the tooth because the cement may not have dried the right way because of the air in between. The bracket will shift, but there will still be some air in between. On ascent, the air will expland, and depending on the ammount of air, and depth, will push on the tooth, and the bracket and you will feel either pressure (on the tooth), or enough to push the bracket off.

 

[Firebrand]

sounds like the Invisalign system is what people who want to dive yet need braces should use. I had braces, but didn't get certified until after I had my braces removed. I also have a couple of bridges, but my dentist did a great job and there is no air trapped in the cementing. If the Invisalign system is too costly, consider a moldable mouthpiece (such as SeaCure) that can be re-shaped as the teeth are shifted by the braces.

 

[emtdan]

No, I dont think that invisilign is the answer. Bubbles get trapped rarely, and having braces is not in any way a contraindication to diving. If done by a expierenced orthodontist, there is little chance of bubbles forming.

 

[H2Andy]

our own resident DDS talked about a related subject here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/t88484-dental-question.html

 

[emtdan]

here are some other rescoursces:

http://www.archwired.com/snorkel_and_braces.htm
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=4