Dental Braces + Diving..

[Penguinboy]

Hey there,

I searched for this and didn't find any relevant posts so here goes:

I recently got fitted with a brace on my top jaw, and have 12 months of fun with it until I'm fixed. Are there any rules on diving with a brace? I was worried the brace would ruin the seal between mouth and reg, or worse damage the reg mouthpiece. When I bite on the reg it seems to be okay so far but I haven't got into the water with it yet.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[radinator]

I can speak to this.

Been diving for years, got braces in Dec '05.

The only issue I had was when taking my instructor course, we do lots of air-share demos and practice with the 'students' and by the end of the day I'd find myself wishing I'd used more wax as the braces would cause some discomfort on my lips and cheeks.

Also, if I'd just had things adjusted a few days beforehand I'd be a little more sensitive to biting the regulator, but that was minor.

In summary - go and enjoy diving.

P.S. I'm diving in SoCal waters with temps around 60 F. If things got really cold I could see how theoretically the braces could conduct the cold to the tooth/gum more effectively and cause discomfort. I had a real problem drinking cold water for a while.

 

[fisherdvm]

I got one of the self mouldable mouthpieces - they are very comfortable. But you would have to warm it up and reshape it if they changed your braces. I am not sure if it would shape well for the second moulding though.