Root Canal + diving.

[PaulSmithTek]

Question has anyone dove while needing to get a root canal done. I leave next week on a trip I have had planed for a year. Just last week my tooth was hurting now I have extream pain unless I take ibprofen 800mg. So my question is has anyone dove with pain neededing a root canal? I would wait to get it done till I get back.

 

[scubaaaronh]

DONT WAIT, GET TO A DENTIST!!!!!! At least they can open the tooth up and get you on antibiotics. You dont want to go through what i went through by waiting. It got really infected the gum swelled into like a blister and puss started oozing. Not only that it spread into my jaw and i had to have my jaw bone scraped. I waited about a week and a half from the onset of the pain. then the pain went away so i thought no big deal, but the blister formed, the endodontist i ended up having to go to said that the pain ceased because the nerve died. I will never wait like that again if i need a root canal.

 

[rigdiver]

Get the root canal done ASAP. You will feel better immediately. The dentist can pack it with antibiotics, leave it open and you can dive. Been there and done it. Hopefully your dentist will work with you on this. Mine was a diver and understanding.

 

[PaulSmithTek]

Great you are all the best. Thanks for the understanding and know how. I will schedule it for this afternoon.

 

[scubaaaronh]

As soon as he starts to drill you'll feel a little pressure but once he gets it open the pain and pressure go and you will feel great. Even if he can't finish it he can get the antibiotics going to stop the infection from spreading. the pain will also diminish greatly. On one that i had done once he opened it there was no more pain till he started the canal a week later.

 

[Amazon]

OMG...diving with a tooth needing a root canal? You deserve a medal for just considering it!

I have a tooth that's acting up - but it's not an abscess. It's an old baby tooth that's on it's way out with no adult tooth to take it's place. I'm waiting for my upcoming vacation to be over before having it ousted. When it comes out, an implant goes in.

But I was at first nervous about heading on vacation with what I thought could be a ticking time-bomb and perhaps ruin my vacation. But I've since found out from my dentist that it's not that type of situation.

I just can't imagine putting up with an abscessed tooth...for more than like...10 seconds!

 

[Amadeus023]

I agree with the others - the longer you wait you will end up incurring even more damage. My dive buddy is a dentist and he could tell you lots of horror stories about people waiting.

For example, my mother needed one and put it off so long that they could not save the tooth. So, in the end she ended up losing the tooth which means $$$$ because if you do not put a false tooth (i.e. bridge or implant) in it's place then you are looking at even more $$$$ down the road. The sooner you address things the better off you will be - never put it off!

 

[cummings66]

Sometimes the urge to dive overrules reason. I wanted to dive so bad this past weekend that even though my back hurt so bad I was unable to lift my regulator I made my wife put the tanks in the car.

Honestly, two things stopped me. One I considered my buddy and if I could physically help him if I needed to, i.e. would the pain stop me. Answer yes.

Second, I had to have my wife help me out of bed and she even bathed me. The first really stopped me, but the second would have also been good in case reason went out the window.

So yes, I can understand diving with pain. I would have but reason prevailed. IMO after having thought it through, if there is a possibility that your limitations might cause problems on a dive then consider the dive scrubbed.

I think he did the right thing in visiting the Dentist, they have ways to do a temporary fix so he can dive and then when he returns they'll fix it for good, or at least for a while. Sometimes the tooth just isn't meant for this world. Just imagine what could have happened had there been a reverse block in the tooth, the pain would be out of this world.

 

[cummings66]

PS, my step Dad had a tooth like that and put it off. He went downhill pretty fast and it took a month of antibiotics with a lot of pain before they could fix it.

IMO treat teeth with respect, they can knock you down fast and put you at great risk. My step Dad had a hole in the side of his jaw for a while due to the problem. Awful painful looking, and I'm not sure how the wrapping stayed put.

 

[PaulSmithTek]

Thanks everyone. Had it to at noon home now. But s*%& that hurts, well next plan is diving in Lake Powell. Thanks for everyones input and help. On the road to recovery.