General Dentistry

Avoid diver's mouth syndrome and tooth squeeze

Before you go scuba diving, see your dentist because this sport can lead to jaw joint pain, gum tissue problems, or tooth squeeze - pain in the center of the tooth caused by the changing pressure. These are symptoms of diver's mouth syndrome, a condition of the mouth that is caused by the mouthpiece and by the air pressure change involved in scuba diving.

At first, divers may not notice the discomfort in their mouth caused by an ill-fitting mouthpiece because they are distracted, but when they conclude their dive and pull off their mouthpiece, they may notice the jaw joint pain caused by clenching too hard onto the mouthpiece or gum lacerations. If the jaw joint pain persists longer than a few days, the diver should consider visiting a dentist to evaluate for possible temporomandibular joint syndrome.
 
Tooth squeeze is the other problem associated with scuba diving. If you have a big cavity, a filling that's broken, gum disease, periodontal abscess or incomplete root canal therapy, the changing pressure of scuba diving can become extremely painful. Be very cautious if you have dentures or partial dentures - they can be inadvertently swallowed during a dive.
 

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