Friggin tooth pains

[pkotik]

I had one and only one experience with this in 2002, or ever, for that mater.

During a test ride on somebody's no-limits rig, I experienced a sudden sharp pain-in the-tooth during the last few seconds of the ascent.

I asked a diving dentist friend about this later, and he suggested the following: as with many people who now have fillings that have been in place for 35 years or more, some of mine no longer
fit the cavity very well due to continuing decay, continuous expansion and contraction due to temperature changes, etc.

So, on descent, air flows between my mouth and the spaces under my filling to keep the pressures equal in those two spaces.

During the very fast no-limits ascent, the air pressure in my mouth rapidly decreases, and the pressure gradient between my mouth and the space under the cavity becomes steep very fast, which somehow is the cause of the pain.

Beats me. I never have this happen during constant weight or free immersion dives, and never during scuba dives. I suppose the idea that the rapidity of NL descent/ascent makes sense as a cause, but I'm not completely comfy with my dentist pal's physics.

[Jason Billows]

Hey Aquiles,

Thanks for your info. regarding my tooth pain.

Interesting to hear that tooth pain is either "on or off". I'm guessing that the pain I'm feeling is either in the gum, or jaw as the tooth itself is not dead following my root canal.

The important thing is that it hasn't caused me any problems when diving, just a little uncomfortable sensation after a long day in the water.

Thanks again.

Jason