Dental Crowns / SCUBA / Temporary Teeth

[petroffd1]

Hi Folks, I new to this forum..looking for some advice...I am currently having 28 teeth replaced with permanent crowns. I now have temporaries in place. What is everyone's opinion about diving under these circumstances?

 

[rsingler]

I'll defer to our dental experts, but the "risk" is probably limited to a microbubble under one or more crowns that acquires N2 during the dive and then pops the temporary off on the way up. Most advice I've gotten is to not worry about it, as it's less a danger than an inconvenience.
That said, your risk is 28 times what mine was. Oops! And temporaries are not installed with the same care that is used on a permanent. You may lose one, between now and then.
I would make a point of commenting to your dental professional about your diving status when the crowns are due to become permanents. I did, recently, and my dentist was happy to take just a little extra care in cementing, to make sure there was no trapped air under my new crown.

 

[CMS]

I recently had a similar experience... only one tooth, though! I was told I needed a root canal and temp crown shortly before a trip to Bonaire. I told the endodontist clearly what my concerns were and he understood (he said that in the Navy, pilots and divers got the very best dental care due to the changes in pressure they deal with... not sure if that's true, but he said it...).

I did lots of online reading and some mental stressing and decided to go ahead and get the root canal & temporary crown before the trip. Once I was in Bonaire my teeth were absolutely no problem (20 dives, down to 120'), and getting the permanent crown was also no problem after I returned. I already had a couple of other 'permanent' crowns that had been placed a few years before the trip.

I hope you get good advice from dental professionals, which I am not, and I hope you have good results.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I'm not a dental expert, but for what it's worth, air trapped in the cement may cause problems if the pocket has communication with the outside environment in your mouth. If the pocket gets pressurized at depth it could pop a temporary off on ascent as @rsingler noted. Depending on how sensitive the surface of the individual tooth is, a trapped air bubble that is compressed on descent could also cause pain. Another thought is the amount of stress that could be placed on the temporary cement when you bite down on the regulator mouthpiece. Your dentist would be better able to speak to that. If you decide to dive, I'd bring a tube of denture adhesive, it works well for holding temporary caps that come off.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Willsee]

I'll defer to our dental experts, but the "risk" is probably limited to a microbubble under one or more crowns that acquires N2 during the dive and then pops the temporary off on the way up. Most advice I've gotten is to not worry about it, as it's less a danger than an inconvenience.
That said, your risk is 28 times what mine was. Oops! And temporaries are not installed with the same care that is used on a permanent. You may lose one, between now and then.
I would make a point of commenting to your dental professional about your diving status when the crowns are due to become permanents. I did, recently, and my dentist was happy to take just a little extra care in cementing, to make sure there was no trapped air under my new crown.

OK, so I am posting as someone who has also had all of their teeth crowned recently but I think I was maybe under your count because of some earlier crowns. I would suggest you never dive with temporary crowns. The cement or glue used for temporary crowns is just not even close to the strength you need for diving. You could end up with a mouth full of loose crowns and then you would need to take them out and store them somewhere until you surface. Some people may do OK with temporary crowns but others may not. I have lost several temporary crowns and have also been able to capture some I have lost and all this was not due to diving just walking around. I was told I have a crossbite and I know I grind my teeth at night so those situations can destroy your temporary crowns with temporary glue jobs. You can use super glue but just a little to reattach the crowns (and if a dentist disagrees listen to the dentist) but I would tell you to never attempt to dive with temporary crowns. I mean really you have them for 10 days or two weeks, wait to get the permanent crowns and even then give it a few weeks to see if you might have issues. I think you might even run the risk of choking with loose temporary crowns if you attempted to dive with them. Really are you seriously considering diving with temporary crowns? I am not going to call you crazy but I am going to say you might want to consider mental health treatment before you see your dentist again, lol! ( but only joking a little).