05 Jan Can Scuba Diving Negatively Impact your Dental Health?
While scuba diving isn’t at the top of most of our patients’ to-do lists with Prescott, Arizona being as land and mountain locked as it is. (Unless you want to explore the murky shallows of Watson or Lynx lake). However, for those of you who do like to scuba dive, or are just curious about the subject matter, read on about some interesting new findings from a study published by the University at Buffalo.
As it turns out, a high number of scuba divers experience symptoms of oral discomfort and even more severe conditions after or during a dive. One example of one such symptom is a squeezing sensation in the teeth called barodontalgia. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that some of these symptoms can occur, considering the large difference of pressure felt the deeper one dives. Also that the supply regulator is held with the teeth.
According to the study, a surprisingly high 41% of respondents reported experiencing dental problems after scuba diving. Most of them reported symptoms of barodontalgia (42%), another 22% reported jaw pain and about one fourth had problems relating to holding the air regulator. Other more serious issues like broken fillings and loosened crowns were also reported. The molars were the most commonly affected teeth.
While a dental exam is not a requirement of your pre-certification medical checkup, it is recommended that you visit your dentist before diving considering the prevalence of problems. Are you considering your first dive? Or are you simply overdue for your general checkup? Schedule your appointment with Prescott Dentistry today!
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (1/3/2017) Jenny Mealing (Flickr)