I have become recently interested in diving. I have a number of co-workers that dive and I can definately say I want to give it a try. So, I've found a shop (with their own pool) and am ready to go for certification and get into diving - but I've had two major concerns that have kept me from doing so:
1) Allergies. After much research, I feel fairly comfortable about this one. I suffer form season hayfever - mostly dusts and the like (pollen and mold are far less of a concern). Living in Kansas - there is plenty of dust in the air during harvest season that can clog me up. Other than that - I can breath clear all year round. And during allergy season I use Flonase and can still breath fine. From what I've read online, it would seem that my allergies are not a huge impedance to my desire to dive. Would you agree?
2) My teeth. I have less than great teeth. In fact, out of the 28 teeth in my mouth, 24 of them have fillings or crowns. Recently, in December, two of my crowns required root canals and replacement crowns. I had a third root canal done Monday (Feb 20) so I asked the dentist to take full x-rays to discover any potential diving problems. He discovered that I had two more teeth with abscesses around the root that would require root canals. These root canals will be completed on the 14th of March. I asked him about the effect this would have on my diving and he didn't think it would have any. He used to dive himself - but he admitted his understanding on pressure and teeth is fairly limited. He didn't know if I should go diving shortly after my root canal - or if I needed to wait until the abscesses completely healed. The abscesses were caused by the teeth dying due to improper braces in my youth. Not decay that killed the nerve, he concluded. Of course, I've been on antibiotics to prevent infection until after the root canals are performed. In my experience he always does the root canals in one visit. He digs out the nerves - cleans out the canals - and then fills with wax (or something similar) before inserting metal wires into the canals. Then he uses a filling to cap the hole and create a build-up for a crown. (the top three crowns are gold and the bottom 3 are porcelein) Crown comes in a couple of weeks later I go in - he puts it in on the build-up and I walk out. My question - how much risk would you estimate(realizing that you can't give full medical advice without an examination) I have in regards to diving with my teeth. Do I need to wait for the abscesses to completely heal first (which my dentist said could take as long as 6 months), or can I go diving within a few weeks of the procedure? Will March 18th be too soon to take my confined water portion of the class with April 19th being the tentative date for my open water certifications?
I guess I'm just trying to figure out if life is telling me not to dive (and if it is I'd rather not invest a lot in memberships, gear and classes) or if I'm just being paranoid. Any advice you could give would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!
1) Allergies. After much research, I feel fairly comfortable about this one. I suffer form season hayfever - mostly dusts and the like (pollen and mold are far less of a concern). Living in Kansas - there is plenty of dust in the air during harvest season that can clog me up. Other than that - I can breath clear all year round. And during allergy season I use Flonase and can still breath fine. From what I've read online, it would seem that my allergies are not a huge impedance to my desire to dive. Would you agree?
2) My teeth. I have less than great teeth. In fact, out of the 28 teeth in my mouth, 24 of them have fillings or crowns. Recently, in December, two of my crowns required root canals and replacement crowns. I had a third root canal done Monday (Feb 20) so I asked the dentist to take full x-rays to discover any potential diving problems. He discovered that I had two more teeth with abscesses around the root that would require root canals. These root canals will be completed on the 14th of March. I asked him about the effect this would have on my diving and he didn't think it would have any. He used to dive himself - but he admitted his understanding on pressure and teeth is fairly limited. He didn't know if I should go diving shortly after my root canal - or if I needed to wait until the abscesses completely healed. The abscesses were caused by the teeth dying due to improper braces in my youth. Not decay that killed the nerve, he concluded. Of course, I've been on antibiotics to prevent infection until after the root canals are performed. In my experience he always does the root canals in one visit. He digs out the nerves - cleans out the canals - and then fills with wax (or something similar) before inserting metal wires into the canals. Then he uses a filling to cap the hole and create a build-up for a crown. (the top three crowns are gold and the bottom 3 are porcelein) Crown comes in a couple of weeks later I go in - he puts it in on the build-up and I walk out. My question - how much risk would you estimate(realizing that you can't give full medical advice without an examination) I have in regards to diving with my teeth. Do I need to wait for the abscesses to completely heal first (which my dentist said could take as long as 6 months), or can I go diving within a few weeks of the procedure? Will March 18th be too soon to take my confined water portion of the class with April 19th being the tentative date for my open water certifications?
I guess I'm just trying to figure out if life is telling me not to dive (and if it is I'd rather not invest a lot in memberships, gear and classes) or if I'm just being paranoid. Any advice you could give would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!
