Flying with bad teeth

[Maria07]

Hi. I may be flying in a month, and I have a variety of dental issues. I started thinking it might not be safe to go up in the air with certain issues. I read somewhere that things can pop, that bad things could happen in the flight if you have tooth issues. I'm trying to find a dentist that can deal with my anxieties and dental phobia before my trip. But I'm hoping that a dentist here could also answer my question at least in a general way. I have a lot of dental problems right now including a very large hole in a tooth on the side front, the fang tooth lol. Honestly if I touch right next to my nose sort of under it it feels weird, so maybe there's an abscess? There is no pain though. And then I have a broken off upper back molar that has been that way for a while, discomfort sort of but no real pain. But today the tooth right next to that broken off molar is hurting quite a bit, so that's a new thing! What I want to know is...is it okay to fly with some dental issues? The fewer dental things I would have to do before the trip the better for various reasons, but I don't want to go up in the air for several hours and be in excruciating pain or have something bad happen. I also have heard that if you have dental work you could be in excruciating pain in the flight too. My husband tells me he doesn't think it would be a problem because of the pressurized cabin. So while I plan to start getting some of my teeth fixed soon, I would like to try to avoid some of it before the trip. I hope this makes sense and wasn't too confusing! Thanks

 

[Gordon]

In theory, if there's an abscess present then the slightly reduced air pressure in the plane can make it expand a bit more, leading to some swelling, it doesn't seem to happen very often in practice though.
The excruciating pain thing is a bit different... basically with old amalgam fillings there would be a microscopic air gap between tooth and filling.
Go up in an airplane without a pressurised cabin and the air gap would swell causing a lot of pain. It also happens to deep sea divers as they get depressurised, I've actually seen it once!
Doesn't apply to commercial flights though.

 

[Maryjo2309]

Hi Maria please
Could I have an update on how your flight went
I am due to fly Wednesday and have a deep cavity which needs. Filling and isn't going to be able to be done until I get back and I am so scared of
Going I am thinking of cancelling my whole trip but I don't want to let my children down I have been having panic attacks not sleep or anything thinking of the flight with this cavity being untreated
Thank u in advance

 

[Gordon]

It's not an abscess so there should be no problem with flying at all.

 

[Maryjo2309]

Hi Gordon thank you for your reply
I have had a bit of
Pain and pressure in it the last few days so I've been super panicking but I have started antibiotics this morning?
Do you think I will be ok?
because I am seriously considering cancelling this holiday due to this poxy tooth

 

[Gordon]

Given you're already on antibiotics then I'd say it's worth the risk. I doubt your holiday insurance will pay out if you cancel

 

[Maria07]

@Maryjo2309 I'm sorry I'm late with a reply! We had to cancel our trip for other reasons. We will probably go in September now. I still haven't figured out the dental thing and haven't had any work done. I can't figure out who to go to that will treat me nicely I hope it goes well for you!!

Now I have to try to find somebody before September! I'm hoping to get some work done sometime late July or early August... Ugh!

Please let us know how your trip went, since you are probably going!

 

[MountainMama]

I flew both commercial and private small plane with an unknown at the time large abscess on my front tooth.

My husband has his small plane pilot license and we flew in an unpressurized small plane multiple times with no issues or pain.

I was on a 6 hour commercial flight later after just having had an implant placed and a tooth extracted, and multiple other dental issues. I was scared it was going to be painful and my dentist sent me with antibiotics just in case one of the teeth with a suspected infection flared up. I had no issues and enjoyed my vacation!

 

[Maria07]

Wow, that's great! I'm glad that you had a good time and didn't have to suffer pain! I have this tooth that has a big hole in it and I'm pretty sure it has an abscess but it doesn't hurt really. I really have to get this looked at before I go anywhere. I'll probably have to have this one removed before I go and try to wait on the other things. Maybe I can get antibiotics as well. Thanks for your update!

 

[Maryjo2309]

So sorry for the delay in replying i didn't end up going either my little boy ended up in hospital with tonsillitis and needed them removed as an emergency literally the night before we was due to fly so we cancelled our trip hope u manage to get it all sorted thank u for all the replies and advise it's very appreciated

 

[Gordon]

Wow that's a shame that both of you missed out on your trips, I hope you manage to get them re-booked without too much fuss and I hope the wee is feeling better soon Maryjo.

 

[Maria07]

Oh I'm sorry that your son got sick! I hope he is doing well now, and that you will be able to go on a trip. Good luck with your teeth too! I'm trying to work out a dentist that is kind and won't judge me! Not that easy!

 

[Maryjo2309]

Hi Maria,

How is your dentist journey Going

i had my deep filling done on thursday god i was crying and so scared but i managed it to that's a bonus just got to hope it works now and i don't need root canal as i definitely won't be having that i will having the toooth removed so praying the filling will be ok
i'm also booked in for my hygienist clean on 29th of this month and then another filling on 9th of sept
i really am trying to face my fears this year and get through all this dental work but i am still so scared and nervous crying all the time when i go

 

[Maria07]

Hi Maryjo,
I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you. So I finally have a dental appointment one week from today on September 25th. I've had this appointment now for at least 6 weeks, I couldn't get in sooner. This dentist sounds perfect, kind and welcoming to people that are embarrassed about how they've not cared for their teeth etc. He has also gotten many good reviews and recommendations by other dentists, so I really hope I found somebody good. The only downfall is he is not in my town he's about half hour away which I guess isn't that bad. But if I need something more serious my husband will have to take off work and go with me, to drive me I guess. Even though he sounds like the right dentist, and his staff that I spoke to was very nice, I'm still worried about being judged and embarrassed. Since the time I made the appointment a piece of a tooth broke off! It was a tooth that twice has hurt really bad but then got better when I was rinsing with salt water and Listerine. I'm thinking it had a crack. Also I have a part of my gum which is loose , and I think that's gotten a little worse since I made the appointment too. So I have numerous problems in my mouth. And I still have, I believe, an abscess in the front and maybe one in the back but nothing horribly painful. So we are planning to go to Europe in October hopefully. What I'm hoping can happen is that the dentist can sort of make me flight ready with as little work as possible and then I can come back and have more work. I'm hoping that my dental problems don't force us to push the trip back farther because I think my husband's getting a little impatient. Previously we had to wait weeks before I could fix my passport, and now that that's all finished it's the dental stuff. I should have gone in July or August instead of waiting so long. So I get to finally face my fears and find out everything that's wrong in one week's time... I'm both terrified and thrilled to get it over with lol. I will update how this appointment goes!

Good for you about getting some of your dental work done! Sounds like you just recently had an appointment getting some fillings. I hope everything continues to go well for you and that you do get to take your trip eventually too!