Getting Wisdom teeth out - can I dive 2 weeks later

[leeormorris]

Hey

Im getting my Wisdom teeth out on Monday Feb 1st. Then Ill be going to Hawaii on Feb 12th and also OZ and NZ in End of Feb to mid April. My question is if I seem to be healing nicely would it be ok to drive 2 weeks later in Hawaii. I would only look at doing a some short 40foot dives 2 weeks later in Hawaii. Im hoping by 4-6 weeks after my surgery I should be ok to do some more aggresive dives in OZ.

What u think?

Leeor

 

[Big-t-2538]

I'm assuming you mean dive....and I don't see why not...however, you you do start to feel pain or discomfort, that would be a good time to give the dive the old thumb and enjoy the island.

 

[diver_paula]

I'm not an expert by fat but I think it would depend on whether or not the sutures had healed. Any open wound would be suceptible to infection. Talk to your dentist and if possible take a dive in a local pool before heading out.

Paula

 

[DocVikingo]

.... might not be okay to dive 2 weeks after such an extraction. For example, complications like dry socket, infection, involvement of the jaw, mouthpiece related pain.

leeormorris--Working under the assumption that you'd like to hear from a professional, I have asked our diving dentist, Dr. Larry Stein, to respond to your inquiry.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[nalfein]

I am also no expert, but I had three of my wisdom teeth taken out last year. I asked about diving, I was told to hold off for a month, mind you a few of my teeth were impacted. I actually did wait almost a fulll month, I dive in Nova Scotia so the water is cold (45F at that time ) .... but I had some pretty good pain and aching in my jaw..... not enough to keep me out of the water, but I would have been in a nasty state if I'd been in the drink 2 weeks after the surgery. Good luck....

chris

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

I had all 4 taken out at once, 2 simple, 1 partial bony and 1 surgical extraction. No pain and only minor advil type discomfort (the oral surgeon makes all the difference) I was told to NOT dive untill the wounds healed up, 4-6 weeks at LEAST.

Ed

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Hi Leeor,



In general, you need about 2-4 weeks healing time following extractions. If these were difficult, horizontal impactions, with a lot of bone removal, I would use the more conservative time of 4 weeks. Really difficult extractions or unexpected surgical complications could mean up to about 6 weeks.

If you have had complications such as "dry sockets" or sinus exposures then the healing time might have to be extended--your oral surgeon should discuss this with you.

If you are still taking a prescription pain medication don't dive and, in fact, if you are still having significant pain for more than 3-4 days, have your dentist or oral surgeon check the site/sites for a dry socket.

One theoretical concern is the lower extraction sites. These sites receive a great deal of force from the jaw. The forces are concentrated at the angle of the lower jaw. Clenching on the regulator tabs could lead to a broken jaw. This is not documented from the literature on diving but it is a documented complication during extraction. Again, speak to your surgeon.

You may be still have some tenderness in the jaw joints from the surgery and holding the regulator may make this worse. Take it a day at a time and don't push yourself. If you are have pain, stop diving. I you cannot comfortably hold the regulator in your mouth I would recommend that you DON'T dive.

Hope this helps.

Safe Diving,

Larry Stein

:doctor: