Tooth Squeeze-Pool sessions

[Paul Jr]

Hello,

IÃ×e finally decided to sign up for scuba and have done so. My excitment however was side tracked after reading thru the PADI book when I came across the section about the tooth squeezes. I am now frustraighted about potential tooth squeeze. I say this because IÃ×e had a lot of work done to my teeth over the years; several fillings and couple of root canals. I also had some very small fillings done a few years back by ÅÔtudent dentists (didnÃÕ have insurance and it was cheap). I also have a top molar that I know needs extracted as the tooth is practically dead now. This was an attempted root canal by those ÅÔtudent dentists that went wrong. So by now IÃÎ certain you may see my concerns here as I am scheduled for my pool and class the first weekend of June and my open water at the end of June.

My hope is, if I can get an appointment to get the dead tooth abstracted soon, as with this tooth I am certain will likely to cause problems. I am curious however, when I do my class and pool dives will this be a potential issue? Being that it will be shallow water?

Furthermore, I intend to speak with my dentist about concerns and IÃÎ sure he will do x-rays as I will be new to his office, from there would he be able to determine if there are air pockets in my previous fillings?

I hate tooth pain (as Im sure anyone would), IÃ×e had extreme issues a couple of times and I would really prefer avoiding it again. IÃ×e searched the scuba site and found many threads regarding this similar issue, however, nothing particular in regarding to how pool dives may affect fillings and sockets were teeth have been abstracted. Any other personal experiences, please throw them out as I am hopeful I can somehow work this issue to were I can still keep my classes scheduled as is..

I read how flying was similar to preasures of diving, however, I dont know that flying in general means that pressure on a commercial flight is comparable to that of diving in water... As I have flown after most of the dental work I've had done with no issues.

Any experinces with this would be appreciated, and any advice would be taken as advice.

Thanks,

jR

 

[scubadiver888]

Hello,

IÃ×e finally decided to sign up for scuba and have done so. My excitment however was side tracked after reading thru the PADI book when I came across the section about the tooth squeezes. I am now frustraighted about potential tooth squeeze. I say this because IÃ×e had a lot of work done to my teeth over the years; several fillings and couple of root canals. I also had some very small fillings done a few years back by ÅÔtudent dentists (didnÃÕ have insurance and it was cheap). I also have a top molar that I know needs extracted as the tooth is practically dead now. This was an attempted root canal by those ÅÔtudent dentists that went wrong. So by now IÃÎ certain you may see my concerns here as I am scheduled for my pool and class the first weekend of June and my open water at the end of June.

My hope is, if I can get an appointment to get the dead tooth abstracted soon, as with this tooth I am certain will likely to cause problems. I am curious however, when I do my class and pool dives will this be a potential issue? Being that it will be shallow water?

Furthermore, I intend to speak with my dentist about concerns and IÃÎ sure he will do x-rays as I will be new to his office, from there would he be able to determine if there are air pockets in my previous fillings?

I hate tooth pain (as Im sure anyone would), IÃ×e had extreme issues a couple of times and I would really prefer avoiding it again. IÃ×e searched the scuba site and found many threads regarding this similar issue, however, nothing particular in regarding to how pool dives may affect fillings and sockets were teeth have been abstracted. Any other personal experiences, please throw them out as I am hopeful I can somehow work this issue to were I can still keep my classes scheduled as is..

I read how flying was similar to preasures of diving, however, I dont know that flying in general means that pressure on a commercial flight is comparable to that of diving in water... As I have flown after most of the dental work I've had done with no issues.

Any experinces with this would be appreciated, and any advice would be taken as advice.

Thanks,

jR

Paul,

I TOTALLY understand your concern. I've had some seriously painful injuries but NOTHING compares to tooth pain.

Within the first 33' air will compress to half its normal volume. Therefore, even in a 10' pool you are going to feel squeeze. I was just in a 10' pool on the weekend and had to clear my ears as I submerged.

As you submerge you'll feel the squeeze. If you ignore it and keep descending it will become painful. So if you start to feel pain in your mouth, stop and slowly go back up. Basically what will happen is you'll let the air out of your BCD (slowly) and you'll start to sink. If you feel pain, stop letting air out of the BCD, start kicking up slowing and give a couple of bursts of air into the BCD. When you get to the surface fill your BCD.

If you do have trouble in the pool you should be able to delay the training until you get your teeth fixed.

As for going into the dentist, not all dentists will think about tooth squeeze. You should mention it to the dentist. I've always had a dentist who was aware I did diving and ensured I didn't have tooth squeeze issues. I only let a student dentist touch my teeth once. My current dentist 'fixed' that tooth. He could just look at it and see if needed work. I don't think an x-ray is going to show an air pocket.

A good dentist should be able to answer your questions better than someone here.

NOTE: tooth squeeze is VERY rare. Maybe due to student dentist but a graduate dentist should have no issues.

 

[Paul Jr]

Thanks for your reply! I have an appointment this week so I plan to speak with my dentist regarding my concerns and plans as far as scuba this summer. I had went to the student dentist twice. the first time was a small cavity, no big deal, the 2n and last time was a root canal. LOL, whoa, what an experinece, it was two student dentists hacking and cutting at my tooth but couldnt seem to get all the nerve out, I felt pain the entire time and they had the okay (from their instructor) to give me the "more than normal dosage" of novcain and it did nothing. Needless to say, after two hours I requested that they stop. They filled it as temp and i never returned. An experienced dentist looked at it after the fact and said there was no use in saving it and it would have to be removed. I know saving teeth are important, but at least it is the very back molar!

Anyway, as you stated, tooth pain is bad and I personally beleive it is one of the worst pains a person could ever go thru when something goes wrong, like air hitting the nerve, etc. The idea of pressure popping a filling sounds painful, although rare, most certainly worth looking into!

Thanks, Paul.. jR

Paul,

I TOTALLY understand your concern. I've had some seriously painful injuries but NOTHING compares to tooth pain.

Within the first 33' air will compress to half its normal volume. Therefore, even in a 10' pool you are going to feel squeeze. I was just in a 10' pool on the weekend and had to clear my ears as I submerged.

As you submerge you'll feel the squeeze. If you ignore it and keep descending it will become painful. So if you start to feel pain in your mouth, stop and slowly go back up. Basically what will happen is you'll let the air out of your BCD (slowly) and you'll start to sink. If you feel pain, stop letting air out of the BCD, start kicking up slowing and give a couple of bursts of air into the BCD. When you get to the surface fill your BCD.

If you do have trouble in the pool you should be able to delay the training until you get your teeth fixed.

As for going into the dentist, not all dentists will think about tooth squeeze. You should mention it to the dentist. I've always had a dentist who was aware I did diving and ensured I didn't have tooth squeeze issues. I only let a student dentist touch my teeth once. My current dentist 'fixed' that tooth. He could just look at it and see if needed work. I don't think an x-ray is going to show an air pocket.

A good dentist should be able to answer your questions better than someone here.

NOTE: tooth squeeze is VERY rare. Maybe due to student dentist but a graduate dentist should have no issues.

 

[SteveC]

I agree. Tooth squeeze is very rare, and I doubt that you will have any problem. I wouldn't cancel your dive plans. As captain Ron always says, " If anythings going to go wrong, it's going to be down there"

 

[AbyssalPlains]

In short: Unless I'm missing something, you are worried about tooth squeeze, but haven't even been in the water yet? I'd say don't stress out about it and just see what happens. I have a mouth full of fillings, some of which are over 20 years old, and no issues whatsoever. As for your question with regard to flying, the pressure differences in aircraft are a fraction of those experienced when diving. The reason for this is that water is 800 times more dense than air (I hope I remember this number right). What that means is that the pressure when diving increases 800 times as much as when changing altitude. I would have to do the math, but as a rough estimate, I'd say that once you descend below 1 foot or so, the pressure change is more than coming down from airplane pressure (which equals atmospheric pressure at 2,500m or so).
That said, don't stress too much, just see what happens. If you do experience tooth squeeze, see your dentist to have it fixed. Definitely don't let this keep you from diving! It's too much fun.

 

[bleeb]

As for your question with regard to flying, the pressure differences in aircraft are a fraction of those experienced when diving. The reason for this is that water is 800 times more dense than air (I hope I remember this number right). What that means is that the pressure when diving increases 800 times as much as when changing altitude. I would have to do the math, but as a rough estimate, I'd say that once you descend below 1 foot or so, the pressure change is more than coming down from airplane pressure (which equals atmospheric pressure at 2,500m or so).

Pressurized airplane cabin run about 0.8 ata, i.e. about <8000'/2,500 m, or about the same pressure change as roughly 7'/2m of water. (See also today's thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/284470-flying.html for more details.)

 

[scubadiver888]

Thanks for your reply! I have an appointment this week so I plan to speak with my dentist regarding my concerns and plans as far as scuba this summer. I had went to the student dentist twice. the first time was a small cavity, no big deal, the 2n and last time was a root canal. LOL, whoa, what an experinece, it was two student dentists hacking and cutting at my tooth but couldnt seem to get all the nerve out, I felt pain the entire time and they had the okay (from their instructor) to give me the "more than normal dosage" of novcain and it did nothing. Needless to say, after two hours I requested that they stop. They filled it as temp and i never returned. An experienced dentist looked at it after the fact and said there was no use in saving it and it would have to be removed. I know saving teeth are important, but at least it is the very back molar!

Anyway, as you stated, tooth pain is bad and I personally beleive it is one of the worst pains a person could ever go thru when something goes wrong, like air hitting the nerve, etc. The idea of pressure popping a filling sounds painful, although rare, most certainly worth looking into!

Thanks, Paul.. jR

I think student dentist is just not worth it.

I used one once. I was in university and just before a philosophy dissertation one of my teeth split in half. It was the most painful presentation I have ever given (40 minutes of absolute horror). Lots of pain and not thinking straight I figured I'd go to the medical building and see if someone there could have a look at my tooth.

The chairs weren't the nice reclining chairs you see at a real dentist office. They were already reclined and you climbed into the fixed chair. The student dentist asks me if I need a pain killer. I look at him and tell him, "You're the dentist, you tell me." He decides I don't need it. He leans over me then takes the metal pick and sticks it in my cracked tooth. My body tensed and the student flew 3 feet then hit the wall. Once he woke up he said, "That was my fault."

He wanted to fix the tooth but the instructor told him no; he insisted it would only take him 30 minutes. The instructor insisted NO. While applying a temporary patch to the tooth, he tried smoothing out the cement only to get the mini spatula stuck to my tooth.

In the end, went to a dentist who teaches internationally, has created advanced techniques and has over 35 years experience. Took him 2.5 hours on the first session and 1 hour on the second session to fix the tooth. There is NO WAY a student dentist could have fixed that tooth in 30 minutes. I doubt he could have fixed the tooth.

Student dentists are just DANGEROUS.

P.S. the student probably put the novacaine in the wrong place making it useless.

 

[Damselfish]

Tooth squeeze is rare, many people have lots of fillings, root canals, etc. and have no problems. So I wouldn't worry about it too much, you may not have a problem at all. But being aware of the possibility is good so if it does happen you'll recognize what is going on and not freak out. You might mention it to your instructor-to-be or the shop if you're really concerned given your dental history. Maybe there would be an opportunity to get in the pool with gear before the class and see how that goes, like a discover scuba.

Don't know which is more likely to cause a problem with your scuba class - the dead tooth or getting it extracted right before class. Definitely good to talk to your dentist about all this.

 

[Paul Jr]

thank you all for your advice and comments... LOL, yeah, I tend to get a little anxious about things and I'm just trying to be as preventative as possible. Great news though, my dentist gave a look over my chops and found a few issues, but if I get them taken care of soon they wiil be minimal issues! When I asked him if he was familure with scuba diving, I was comforted to know that he not only scuba certified but certified in scuba rescue as well. He even had me try to equalize my ears while I was in his office as he stated some of my upper tooth pain looks as though it might be from sinus troubles as my sinus cavities were denese, noting theres gunk in there. (been a little under the weather the past week). Aside from all this, this denstist office is one of the most comforting ones I've been too....

Just curious, when I tried to equalize my ears, they popped but it seemed to make my ears feel a lttle stuffy, was this normal when done above water and on ground?

Thanks again.
Paul