Dentures and diving; advice sought

Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
I have a front upper tooth which has decided it's fed up with being in my gob and is about to fall out. The dentist has offered a denture plate or an implant. With great reluctance I decided I'd have to have an implant (Ow much?!) because of regularly breathing from demand valves whilst cave diving. (I'm concerned about the denture plate becoming dislodged during a routine or even emergency valve swap.)

I should mention I'd prefer not to have a bridge fitted, because that involves mauling the two healthy teeth either side of what'll soon become a gap.

However, a mate of mine in the CDG Northern Section who also has an upper denture plate, whose opinion I value greatly, has made me think twice. He says he used to have to take his denture plate out before diving but doesn't now because in recent years they've become so well made it's very secure and he dives with it in all the time.

This is all new territory for me, so I was wondering if any other forum members who are divers have dentures - and whether you could also advise me about the implications of diving with them?

Thanks.
 
shortscotsman

shortscotsman

New member
Hi,

I have a partial upper plate with my three front teeth. [Consequence of an RTA whilst a teenager]

I've done a decent amount of dives (400ish) almost all open water but fairly technical so I've had to swop regs under water. 

Always dived with my plate in and never had a problem

[If you want I could pm you with an image of my plate for comparison]
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Thanks shortscotsman; that's very helpful. No need to send a picture but I've PM's you anyway.
 
M

MJenkinson

Member
I wouldn't dare tell you how to breathe from a reg Pitlamp, but in reality would taking a plate out and leaving a one tooth gap even matter that much when diving? It's not like you are biting onto the reg anyway?

 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Hiya Mr J - the problem is I'm gormless enough to lose them, or stand on them or something. So I really don't want to take them out for underwater endeavour.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
It also means taking an extra container to put the dentures in whilst diving; yet more gear to squeeze into an often over-filled tacklebag. Or forget to include in the first place . . .
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
Also, when you finally bust the master sump, and Look North and the press are all stood outside waiting with cameras, the last thing you want to do is pull out your reg and give them a daft 'Billy The Kid' grin. Why not drill a lanyard hole in the back, tie it on to a good back molar and then you can't lose it? ;)

Sorry - I do wear one myself, so it's fair enough, I reckon. Nearly dropped it down a bloody 70m shaft once whilst looking down, talking and smoking simultaneously.
 
M

mudman

Member
I have a front tooth missing. My dentist gave me a 'glue-on' bridge that required no modification of the two teeth either side. He did say that it would probably fall off one day while eating crusty bread but it's still in there something like 10 years later. Might be another option for you.
 
M

MJenkinson

Member
Pitlamp said:
It also means taking an extra container to put the dentures in whilst diving; yet more gear to squeeze into an often over-filled tacklebag. Or forget to include in the first place . . .
Click to expand...

I am almost convinced you can't fit anything else in that Bergen of yours so fair point.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
mudman said:
I have a front tooth missing. My dentist gave me a 'glue-on' bridge that required no modification of the two teeth either side. He did say that it would probably fall off one day while eating crusty bread but it's still in there something like 10 years later. Might be another option for you.
Click to expand...

That's interesting; is that what's called a "Maryland Bridge"? Properly called a "resin bonded fixed partial denture":

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/bridges-and-crowns/maryland-bridges-what-to-know-about-this-tooth-replacement-option

Does anyone else have any experience of these?
 
JAA

JAA

Active member
I?m guessing you have already asked John, but Rob Murgatroyd is probably your man for advice?
 
M

mudman

Member
Pitlamp said:
mudman said:
I have a front tooth missing. My dentist gave me a 'glue-on' bridge that required no modification of the two teeth either side. He did say that it would probably fall off one day while eating crusty bread but it's still in there something like 10 years later. Might be another option for you.
Click to expand...

That's interesting; is that what's called a "Maryland Bridge"? Properly called a "resin bonded fixed partial denture":

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/bridges-and-crowns/maryland-bridges-what-to-know-about-this-tooth-replacement-option

Does anyone else have any experience of these?
Click to expand...

That sounds like mine although I never knew the full name.
Great for complete wooses like me who get to the part about 'pain management team' on the implant website and immediately says 'nope!'
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Aha; can you tell me how long you've had that kind of bridge in Mudman - and are you happy with it?

I've never been too keen on dentists either, after bad experiences when I was a child under the "care" of the Butcher of Blackburn, who I think must have been trained by the Gestapo.
 
M

mudman

Member
I could have sworn I'd had it in for a decade or more but I found a photo of me showing teeth with a gap from October 2014 so it must have been after that. I do remember popping out of the surgery to see a partial eclipse that was happening at the time and the most likely candidate is the one in March 2015. So not as long as I had thought which is really weird, I blame old age.
Saying that though, I have been extremely happy with it. Took a bit of getting use to at first as you end up with a bit of a lump behind the adjacent teeth but not had any trouble with it and it still appears top be rock solid.
Likewise with the bad experiences. A rather sadistic dentist coupled with a profound dislike of toothpaste did for me.
 
Frog2

Frog2

Member
Cannot comment on any diving aspect but having had a front tooth implant (and two others), would say the process was effectively pain free, but rather expensive.
One thing to bear in mind though is the time it takes from start to finish - can be up to say a 6 month process - from consultation, extraction of remaining bit of tooth, let that settle down, placement of the implant that needed circa 3 months to bond properly with the bone and then the final fitting of the crown.

One of the positives of mask or face coverings was it hid the gap!

Very pleased with the final outcome though.

 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Brilliant - thanks.

I presume you wore a denture meanwhile? Or did you just go "gappy" for 6 months?
 
T

tamarmole

Active member
Pitlamp, as a slight digression do you remember when Baz Araldited his false tooth in; his dentist was not impressed!
 
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