Jaws! Toothache tortures divers

DIVERS could find themselves in the deep end when it comes to toothache.

More than four in ten scuba divers suffer dental problems, including broken fillings, loose crowns and jaw pain, a study shows.

Researchers said the problem could be caused by repeated jaw clenching and fluctuations in the pressure underwater.

Study leader Vinisha Ranna, from the University at Buffalo, New York, said recreational divers should see a dentist before diving if they recently received dental care.

Miss Ranna added: ‘Divers are required to meet a standard of medical fitness before certification, but there are no dental health prerequisites.

‘Considering the air supply regulator is held in the mouth, any disorder in the oral cavity can potentially increase the diver’s risk of injury. A dentist can look to see if diving is affecting a patient’s oral health.’

The research was prompted by Miss Ranna’s experience as a scuba diver in 2013. She noticed a squeezing sensation in her teeth, known as barodontalgia, so she surveyed 100 divers certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.

Of the 41 participants who reported dental symptoms, 42 per cent experienced barodontalgia, 24 per cent described pain from holding the air regulator in their mouths tightly and 22 per cent reported jaw pain.

Another 5 per cent noted that their crowns were loosened during their dive, and one person even reported a broken filling, the British Dental Journal reports.

Miss Ranna said: ‘The potential for damage is high during scuba diving. The dry air and awkward position of the jaw while clenching down on the regulator is an interesting mix.

‘An unhealthy tooth underwater would be more obvious than on the surface. One hundred feet underwater is the last place you want to be with a fractured tooth.’

As scuba diving gains popularity, Miss Ranna hopes the association will include oral health in its assessments for certification.

The study also found that pain was most commonly reported in the molars and that dive instructors experienced dental symptoms most frequently.

This frequency is likely attributed to more time spent at shallower depths where the pressure fluctuations are the greatest, Miss Ranna said.