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For those of you scared of flying with dental issues...

M

MountainMama

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
2,593
I know I have seen quite a few questions about flying with cracked teeth, painful teeth, infections, etc. I had read multiple articles about flying with cracked teeth and how it can cause intense pain, but my endodontist and dentist said it was very unlikely and rare to have extreme pain.

So I went on vacation this past week, and had four flights, with a total of around 10 hours in the air. I have a host of dental issues, including cracked molars, a chronic infection in my front tooth, a dental implant, an extraction and bone grafting done less than 2 months ago, and a jaw and two teeth that were aching at the time of the flight.

I had zero issues. My teeth never hurt any more taking off, in the air, or landing than they did before the flights. For the first flight (2 hours), I popped some tylenol just in case, but for the rest, I didn't take anything.

I also had a motor scooter accident while on vacation, and hit my jaw, and side of my face on a concrete wall (thankfully had a helmet!), resulting in a lot of bruising and sore jaw (in the one that was already sore), and still had no issues flying home four days later.

So for those of you wondering, it is very unlikely to have a lot more pain when flying with dental issues.
 
It amazes me how people can come up with narratives that might sound plausible but unrealistic. Once I did a scuba diving lesson and the instructor insisted that when diving deep enough, teeth with cavities start to hurt due to pressure differences.
I call it fake science.
 
It amazes me how people can come up with narratives that might sound plausible but unrealistic. Once I did a scuba diving lesson and the instructor insisted that when diving deep enough, teeth with cavities start to hurt due to pressure differences.
I call it fake science.

Yes, it didn't make sense to me either, but there are articles by dentists stating that it can cause intense pain when flying or scuba diving, if you have cracked teeth or a cavity, or even just a toothache. For those of us who have anxiety to begin with, the amount of articles by actual dentists claiming this is alarming. One article I read was by a dentist who apparently specializes in barodontalgia. He had all kinds of claims that you should never fly with a toothache.

Also, on the scuba front, my daughter just got certified for scuba diving and we had to fill out paperwork saying she had no dental issues. It was crazy! My husband has cracked teeth, and went diving with no issues.
 
Yes, it didn't make sense to me either, but there are articles by dentists stating that it can cause intense pain when flying or scuba diving, if you have cracked teeth or a cavity, or even just a toothache. For those of us who have anxiety to begin with, the amount of articles by actual dentists claiming this is alarming. One article I read was by a dentist who apparently specializes in barodontalgia. He had all kinds of claims that you should never fly with a toothache.

Also, on the scuba front, my daughter just got certified for scuba diving and we had to fill out paperwork saying she had no dental issues. It was crazy! My husband has cracked teeth, and went diving with no issues.
Anxiety sells
 
Anxiety sells
Yes, it does. I wasn't all that worried about flying with my issues, because the science behind the claims did not really make sense. Maybe with deep fillings that had an air pocket but when I asked my dentist and endodontist, they both said it was nonsense and I wouldn't have any issues.
 
Glad to hear this, MountainMama! I haven't flown since my dental issues started, so that's actually been a big fear of mine--and I don't want it to keep holding me back from traveling. I hope you enjoyed your vacation! (Other than the scooter accident, ouch!)
 
Glad to hear this, MountainMama! I haven't flown since my dental issues started, so that's actually been a big fear of mine--and I don't want it to keep holding me back from traveling. I hope you enjoyed your vacation! (Other than the scooter accident, ouch!)

Thank you...I did enjoy my vacation! I hope you get some traveling in soon!
 
I know I have seen quite a few questions about flying with cracked teeth, painful teeth, infections, etc. I had read multiple articles about flying with cracked teeth and how it can cause intense pain, but my endodontist and dentist said it was very unlikely and rare to have extreme pain.

So I went on vacation this past week, and had four flights, with a total of around 10 hours in the air. I have a host of dental issues, including cracked molars, a chronic infection in my front tooth, a dental implant, an extraction and bone grafting done less than 2 months ago, and a jaw and two teeth that were aching at the time of the flight.

I had zero issues. My teeth never hurt any more taking off, in the air, or landing than they did before the flights. For the first flight (2 hours), I popped some tylenol just in case, but for the rest, I didn't take anything.

I also had a motor scooter accident while on vacation, and hit my jaw, and side of my face on a concrete wall (thankfully had a helmet!), resulting in a lot of bruising and sore jaw (in the one that was already sore), and still had no issues flying home four days later.

So for those of you wondering, it is very unlikely to have a lot more pain when flying with dental issues.

I am so glad I read this thread, thanks!
 
It amazes me how people can come up with narratives that might sound plausible but unrealistic. Once I did a scuba diving lesson and the instructor insisted that when diving deep enough, teeth with cavities start to hurt due to pressure differences.
I call it fake science.

I'm flying 8 hours back to the UK on Monday and I've got toothache that keeps flaring up. My dentist thinks it's a bite issue, the xrays don't show up infection or abcesses but I was worried about being in terrible pain once up in the air.
 
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