Toothache before diving

[sonypone]

Hello everyone,

This will be my 1st dive, We are going to hawaii in april and just yesterday it seems my wisdom tooth is starting to grow in. The pain is not unbearable and i can wait intill after the trip to take some action on it. But lets say i still feel some pain in my mouth, would it be ok to dive up to 40feet? Or should i get the tooth pulled 1st?

 

[Zippsy]

I am not a dentist or a dive doctor but I have teeth and I dive . I don't think diving with that type of toothache should be a problem. If you have a cavity or other enclosed airspace in your teeth that could be "squeezed" by pressure - then you have an issue.

 

[Albion]

I am not a dentist or a dive doctor but I have teeth and I dive . I don't think diving with that type of toothache should be a problem. If you have a cavity or other enclosed airspace in your teeth that could be "squeezed" by pressure - then you have an issue.

Alternately tie one end of some fishing line round the offending tooth and the other end to your buddy and let them do a giant stride ahead of you, problem solved pre dive.

Seriously i feel for you, i'm having my last two wisdom teeth removed this week and not looking forward to it

Note to Zippsy - does removal of wisdom teeth make me smarter than I already are or less so?

 

[Zippsy]

Note to Zippsy - does removal of wisdom teeth make me smarter than I already are or less so?

I'm seriously concerned for you. :54:

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Hello everyone,

This will be my 1st dive, We are going to hawaii in april and just yesterday it seems my wisdom tooth is starting to grow in. The pain is not unbearable and i can wait intill after the trip to take some action on it. But lets say i still feel some pain in my mouth, would it be ok to dive up to 40feet? Or should i get the tooth pulled 1st?

Hi Sonypone,

When are you supposed to dive? If you only have a short time before your trip, you may be forced to postpone because it can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks, depending on if the teeth are impacted or not, before you should dive.

If you go away without extractions, you should have no problem if...you are having NO SYMPTOMS! No pain, swelling, fever, swelling bad tastes and/or you are not TAKING ANY MEDICATIONS for the problem like pain killers, or antibiotics.

Most of the time, the pain caused by the eruping wisdom teeth is because the tissue over the teeth is inflammed. This is called a pericoronitis. It can range from mild discomfort to severe pain, swelling, ulceration and inability to open the mouth.

In mild cases, salt water rinses may help and/or hydrogen peroxide rinses twice a day with 50:50 diluted over the counter hydrogen peroxide (3%). DO NOT USE 10% peroxide from the beauty supply store...it is for bleaching hair. Only do this with your dentist being informed there is a problem.

If you cannot stop the pain with this simple rinse, then antibiotics are going to be needed and you shouldn't dive. Don't assume that you can go away with some peroxide...just in case...if it doesn't work, you can get a really serious infection and putting it off several days is not helpful.

So the best advice advice is to see your dentist, get the teeth out if at all possible. If you must travel, you might have to take a prescription with you...just in case...and then don't dive if you are taking them.

Laurence Stein, DDS
:doctor:

Disclaimer
(No representations are made that in any way offer a diagnosis, treatment or cure for any illness or condition, either discussed or implied. Answers to questions are offered as information only and should always be used in conjunction with advice from your personal diving physician/dentist. I take no responsibility for any conceivable consequence, which might be related to any visit to this site.)

 

[sonypone]

I know it was a long long time ago but i just wanted to add that i could not go through with it. I started to feel sick as soon as we got to the dive spot.
I went through with a series of tests with the scuba gear in the water. I passed very nicely but when it came to going down i just did not go through with it.
I guess i have a mild case of being too anxious. Also i had these thoughts in back of my mind about my health. What if i would lose my breath. Anyway I dont know if i will ever be able to scuba even though its a real passion of mine to do.

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

I know it was a long long time ago but i just wanted to add that i could not go through with it. I started to feel sick as soon as we got to the dive spot.
I went through with a series of tests with the scuba gear in the water. I passed very nicely but when it came to going down i just did not go through with it.
I guess i have a mild case of being too anxious. Also i had these thoughts in back of my mind about my health. What if i would lose my breath. Anyway I dont know if i will ever be able to scuba even though its a real passion of mine to do.

Sorry to hear you didn't do it. Perhaps it is for the best. With that much anxiety and (compulsive) thoughts about you health and breathing, you might want to reconsider diving.

My son dives and never had a second though about what could happen. My daugter, on the other hand would "freak" if a minnow touched her...if she had scuba on, I have no doubt she would bolt to the surface. You should have seen the two of them on a sting ray dive...my son had his arms and legs wrapped around the critter (and I had visitions of the ray struggling to get free of his grip). As soon as a ray sucked my daughter's hair...she nearly ripped my arm off trying to get to the boat. From then on, I knew my son could dive and not my daughter.

You might want to have an instructor desensitize you but my fear is that under pressure you might still become anxious.

Er...DID YOU EVER GET YOUR WISDOM TEETH OUT???? If not, perhaps you have anxiety about that too!

Larry Stein, DDS