Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Problems among SCUBA Divers in Jeddah, KSA

The recent increase in the popularity of scuba diving has emphasized the role of the dentist in the prevention and treatment of oralbarotrauma. Barotrauma is a physical injury that results from ambient pressure changes during flying, diving or hyperbaric oxygen therapy [1]. Pressure changes can induce otitis-media, sinusitis, headache or can be manifested as pain to the oral region [2]. Dental barotrauma can happen while ascending; upon surfacing after completing the dive, the diver may report that a tooth broke or has shattered [4]. Divers may also suffer from signs of tempromandibular disorder such as pain in tempromandibular joint (TMJ) and ears, TMJ clicking or crepitus, trismus and impaired TMJ mobility, headache and facial pain [5]. Hence, this article aims to Assessment of dental and TMJ problems in a sample of SCUBA divers in Jeddah Saudi Arabia,Assessment of dental complaints of divers, Assessment of TMJ problems associated with SCUBA diving and relate the previous problems to diving related characteristics such as the duration of practice, the number of dives and the frequency of diving per month. Material and methods: Divers at four dive centers at the Northern coast of Jeddah (Obhur) asked to complete a questionnaire that requested information regarding diving experience and facial pain and dental symptoms experienced during diving. Cross sectional study assessing the prevalence of dental and TMJ problems among divers. The total number was 60 SCUBA divers. Results: most of divers did not complain of sinusitis (75%). More than have of the sample complained of headache (65%). While facial pain was reported by (46.7%) of the sample. More than half did not experience dental pain (65%) while (35%) had dental pain during diving. More than half of the sample did not experience TMJ pain 70% while (30%) reported having TMJ pain during diving. Conclusions: Scuba diving is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Since Jeddah is the main port of Saudi Arabia, diving has become an occupation as well a popular sport for many people. This attracted our attention to the importance of evaluating the oral problems related to this activity. It is inevitable that the general dental practitioner will have patients who participate in this sport and they should be aware of a number of problems that a diver can experience that are associated with the teeth and related structures. The dental team must educate the diver patient of the infectious potential of the mouthpiece and recommend using only a private one, and encourage maintenance by hygiene procedures after each use, similar to other removable oral devices. The diver should not dive in times of illness. Diving related TMD symptoms should be differentiated from barotitis symptoms.