Upcoming air travel dental questions

[Yourbigpalal83]

Hey, its been years since i posted and i avoid even visiting the site as to not trigger my Dental OCD and Panic attacks.

That said...tomarrow if the flight isn't canceled, i have a flight to Florida for a vacation.

I currently have no dental problems, but since the start of the pandemic i havent visited a dentist in atleast a few years. I was planning to go once a year for a checkup and cleaning but since the pandemic, I cant risk it as i live with my elderly parents and i cant risk exposing them to covid (even though i am vaccinated and boostered).

Covid has really put my OCD and Anxiety into hyperdrive lately and adding to that with dental visits is just too much to cope with at the moment.

However, i have a very strict regiment of brushing and flossing, based off of my OCD. I wait 45 minuets after every meal to brush and floss, and i try to avoid hard sticky sugary foods and i only drink water.

At my last checkup a few years back, i was given an all clear with no issues.

In that time, ive inspected my teeth countless times to the best of my ability, took as much care of them as i could, and havent notice any new problems.

What are the chances ill have issues on my flight as i know the air pressure can effect teeth, and im hearing all kind of stories online from them cracking and knocking out fillings and all kind of things.

From my limited understanding, the flight itself and air pressure can not cause new problems, but could trigger things in current undiscovered issues. Is that correct?

Also if their is any damage in any of my teeth, it would have to be localized in the enamel only as i dont feel any issues what so ever normally and given my care regement its unlikely.

If their are issues just in the enamel that wouldent effect the dentine or pulp and thus the air pressure change on the flight wouldent cause issues correct?

-Al

 

[Gordon]

Hey Al, nice to hear you're still around. Hope you have a lovely holiday...

What are the chances ill have issues on my flight as i know the air pressure can effect teeth, and im hearing all kind of stories online from them cracking and knocking out fillings and all kind of things.

Zero.

From my limited understanding, the flight itself and air pressure can not cause new problems, but could trigger things in current undiscovered issues. Is that correct?

Yes, pretty much this. The main thing that seems to happen is that a chronic abscess which is largely un-noticed suddenly gets a bit more active. No chance that you've got one of those so I wouldn't waste time worrying about it.

Also if their is any damage in any of my teeth, it would have to be localized in the enamel only as i dont feel any issues what so ever normally and given my care regement its unlikely.

Doesn't happen like that at all, so forget about it.

If their are issues just in the enamel that wouldent effect the dentine or pulp and thus the air pressure change on the flight wouldent cause issues correct?

It would not be affected by pressure change at all, so see above

Have a great time, don't forget to get some cheap shopping done and my favourite ride is the Men in Black ride in Universal, closely followed by the Mummy rollercoaster

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

Thank you so much for your response Gordon. Glad to hear from you. I've avoided the site as it could trigger bouts of ocd and start a cycle but i did miss you and everyones else advice, but it was also something i felt i was too dependent on.

As for the trip i'm a bit nervous going in an airplane but i should be fine. Dental wise, no real problems. Havent been to a dentist in a bit due to the pandemic, but once that dies down i plan on going for a checkup as im overdue for a cleaning. Its just right now, taking care of my elderly parents, i cant risk exposing myself for too long and risk bringing home the virus to them (even though i myself am vaccinated).

With this trip, i plan on spending a week, wearing a k95 Mask (all last year every time i set foot out the door i was wearing a paint resperator with biological filters in them and i even self isolated from my friends for 8 of the longest months of my life until i got a vaccine) and once i get back home im getting a test before i set foot in the door.

All in all, despite all this ive been doing better with the OCD and dental fears. They still happen and they seem to come in waves, but its usually my mind's default anxieity if that makes sense. I'll get anxious about something else, and then at some point my brain will just switch over to the Dental OCD as a default for some reason.

I think its from trauma in the past. When i was a child, i had a dentist rip out a loose tooth by hand when he said he was just going to look at it, and even when i was younger and started getting lose teeth, i had an older sibling try to pull them out with strings, etc.

Then id chew ice and broke two molars, they got infected and needed to be removed. We had no real knowledge of dental care at all in our house. My grandfathers on both sides and my father all had no teeth and dental care just wasn't inforced in our household.

Then when i got the two broken molars abcessed and infected i had such bad pain at night that it would shoot directly into my ear to the point where i could not sleep...thats when i visited a dentist (my fathers one, which should have been a red flag their) and he kinda talked down and embarassed me at the condition of my teeth at the time.

His intent was, he diden't want me making the same mistakes my father made with his teeth (as he pulled most of his) but the way he came off was super harsh and judgemental, thus the fear and anxiety and ocd over my teeth.

But ive been working hard to over come it over the years, and while i still have my ups and downs, ive been making progress.

Thanks again so much for the advice my friend. I hope all is well with you.

-Al

 

[Gordon]

All's fine here, thank you for asking my friend. I hope you have a great trip.

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

I had a severe panic attack just as i was about to board the trip and bailed. Shame too as i feel terrable about it. It wasnt just the teeth issue. Thats a simple solution, get another checkup to be 100% sure. It was more fear of flying and the covid and crowd issues.

 

[Gordon]

That's a shame. I must confess, I don't fancy getting on a plane for 12 hrs with total strangers at the moment either