Braces and Scuba

[gbrdiver]

My son needs to have braces fitted shortly and he's worried that diving will be off the list for a while. Any experiences diving with braces?

[FishFood]

If his gums hurt, it may be painfull to bite the mouthpeice. Other than that, no problems.

You may want to check into a good fitting mouth peice such as the "SeaCure" line.

[SkuaSeptember]

I've had many students with braces, my daughter and son both learned to dive while having them on - not a problem.

[dive10killer]

My daughter got cert with braces.
No Problems!

[kevinj1]

I got certified with braces on years ago and popped a brace once. Other then that, no problems. A comfortable mouthpiece is a great suggestion. Go for it...

[freeski4ever]

While a good, soft mouthpiece is recommended, I would not go as far as buying a SeaCure mouthpiece, or any other that requires it to be custom molded. The primary reason has to do with the physics of the mouthpiece itself. If you make a custom molded mouthpiece of teeth with braces on them, the mouthpiece will then be molded around the braces, potentially causing strain on the bonds between the brace and the tooth.

Secondly, the objective of braces is to continually reposition the teeth inside the mouth. If you have a custom molded mouthpiece, the mouthpiece will have to be constantly remolded, otherwise, the mouthpiece would potentially counteract the work that the braces have done.

I'd look at getting a generic cushioned mouthpiece, and wait until the braces come off to buy a custom molded SeaCure mouthpiece.

[gbrdiver]

Good advice, thanks.

[DallasMarineBio]

I had braces up till my senior year in HS, only had them removed a month before I went off to college (got certified with them on)...I wouldn't recommend one of the custom mouthpieces, I had one, and as mentioned above your teeth move all the time, and the sea cures are a bit more solid plastic versus a silicone.

...just go with a softer silicone one (the el-cheapo clear ones usually tend to be softer than the black...but not always the case)

I also played football and hockey with those braces- I learned that no mouthpiece can stop the shredding of mouth-parts when you play a contact sport!

[joeSteve1006]

i did a Discover Scuba dive with them 0on, no problems, it might be just a tad tight on the teeth, but it should be fine

[dogseatmayo]

don't get a seacure mouthpiece, as it will prevent your teeth from repositioning