Dental work and Diving

[Prep4uuww]

Hey Everyone,

I live in wisconsin and play hockey!! Well in last night's game I chipped my front tooth in half and will be getting dental work done tomorrow morning (friday 6th). I have the work scheduled for 9am and I am planning a 2 tank dive at 11am.

Will I be okay to dive?

They will not be giving me any gas, maybe a shot of something to numb things up.

Any input would help.

Thanks, David :06:

 

[Prep4uuww]

Anyone?

 

[gert7to3]

Anyone?

So long as there is no air space left inside the dental work, like a pooly fitted temporary crown, there won't be any barotrauma issues.

How will work on this tooth affect your ability to bite down on and retain your regulator's mouthpiece? Also, how will having part of your face numbed up affect your ability to form a proper seal around your mouthpiece?

 

[MikeC]

What about diving with the pain killers still in your system?? You may not have a problem, then again you might get hit by lightning. I would have a problem with this if I was your buddy.

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

So long as there is no air space left inside the dental work, like a pooly fitted temporary crown, there won't be any barotrauma issues.

How will work on this tooth affect your ability to bite down on and retain your regulator's mouthpiece? Also, how will having part of your face numbed up affect your ability to form a proper seal around your mouthpiece?

Gert7to3,

Methinks we are getting a little ahead of ourselves...this guy is having local anesthetic to numb a tooth. He's not having a stroke. It's gonna go away the same day. I really don't think diving with a numb lip is an issue, do you?

Ability to hold a reg is only an issue during the treatment phase and immediate post op phase of the procedure. If the root canal or cap is going to fail, most times it is obvious and diving is not an option. Certainly, if meds are being taken that can alter consciousness, no diving until off the meds and the underlying painful situation is resolved.

Laurence Stein, DDS

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Hey Everyone,

I live in wisconsin and play hockey!! Well in last night's game I chipped my front tooth in half and will be getting dental work done tomorrow morning (friday 6th). I have the work scheduled for 9am and I am planning a 2 tank dive at 11am.

Will I be okay to dive?

They will not be giving me any gas, maybe a shot of something to numb things up.

Any input would help.

Thanks, David :06:

Hi David,

No, you cannot dive during the dental procedure! :11:.

Something simple may only require a bonded filling. An exposed nerve or a devitalized nerve is going to need a root canal, post and a crown. A fractured root could require an extraction. A head injury could require....never mind. A hockey injury...but I repeat myself!

As long as there are no air spaces remaining, you can dive. The best advice is to wait until any root canal is completed and the final restoration is in place.

Hey, I though you guys from Wisconsin didn't need front teeth. You play hockey...those teeth sort of get in the way...right? In fact, that's how you can tell a Wisconsin diver...no front teeth.

The procedures should be easy and painless...really. WATCH OUT FOR THE PUCK...OOPS!

Laurence Stein, DDS

 

[Prep4uuww]

Thanks for your help!!

There's really no direct pain from the tooth so I'm thinking it didn't hit the nerves or chip deep enough. If the procedure takes place at 9am today (in 40 min) and should not take longer then 1 hour? I'm hoping. The numbness (spelling?) should be close to wearing off within that hour. I think I'd be alright in terms of an air space. and if for some reason I get to the dive site and have any problem I'd call the dive. No sense in risking safety. Thanks for your help wish me luck!!

David

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Thanks for your help!!

There's really no direct pain from the tooth so I'm thinking it didn't hit the nerves or chip deep enough. If the procedure takes place at 9am today (in 40 min) and should not take longer then 1 hour? I'm hoping. The numbness (spelling?) should be close to wearing off within that hour. I think I'd be alright in terms of an air space. and if for some reason I get to the dive site and have any problem I'd call the dive. No sense in risking safety. Thanks for your help wish me luck!!

David

David,

I don't think it is a good idea to dive the same day as the dental procedure. In fact, recommendations for diving following dental procedures often say that a week is appropriate. Certainly, if it is a simple filling, no numbness, no problem. Surgery, root canals, periodontal surgery, etc., wait a week. It's more to protect you from complications than the procedure being a dive problem.

In my experience, barodontalgias (tooth pain when exposed to changing pressure) is most likely to occur: 1) Sinus problems
2) Teeth with altered pulp (nerve) vitality...this is the one you have to watch.

When there is a nerve injury, that tooth is more at risk for a barodontalgia. Certainly this is understandable for a dead or abcessed tooth. I've seen it occur in normal, vital teeth immediately after a filling procedure that irritated the nerve.

Your tooth sustained a blow that was hard enough to break part of the tooth. This is more than hard enough to kill a nerve even with no nerve exposure. Couple that with any dental procedure that can produce vibration, heat or cold and the potential for permanent injury is increased.

Give your tooth a break...OK, not literally...stay away from diving for a short while. Your front tooth is going to be exposed to altered air pressure, cold air from the regulator, possible pressure from the regulator bite, etc. Summer is long, the water isn't going anywhere. Give your tooth a week off...if nothing else, to see what may happen.

Good luck. ( I'm telling this to a hockey player...right!)

Laurence Stein, DDS

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

gert7to3,

Sincerest apologies,

I didn't think it possible to have dental anesthesia and do a dive in the same day...looks like I was wrong.

Laurence Stein DDS

 

[Prep4uuww]

Just thought I'd fill you in...

My Dental fix went great! You can't even tell I lost half a tooth. Need a great dentist in Wisconsin I can refer you to one.

Anyways, it was a simple procedure. She said I didn't need to be numbed but I choose to take it and had the front of my mouth numbed. made my nose a little numb too :dazzler1: . took 30 min. and was out the door at 9:30am. pick up gear, stop at the local dive shop for a 2-tank fill. and hit the water at 12pm. No pain no numbness. dive's were great. had things been not so smooth I wouldn't have dove.

Thanks for your help.

David