Question about teeth and flying...odd i know?!
Question:
Question about teeth and flying...odd i know?
so this may be a stupid question but i dont know the answer..so i am flying next week and want to know should i wear my retainer while i am flying? will the pressure affect the retainer at all and squeeze my teeth any tighter?
also is there anything i can take that will calm my nerves but not make me sleep? thanks a ton
Answers:
It won't affect your retainer's fit - the pressure differential isn't strong enough to move teeth like that. However, if you have fillings, crowns, caps or anything else like that, an imperfect fit on any one of them could cause some discomfort. Dental irritation from flying comes from the air in hollow spaces in the center of the teeth (cavities, gaps under fillings, etc) expanding and pushing both inward (toward the nerve) and outward. A drastic differential can cause sudden and sometimes severe pain, but only if the dental work was performed poorly or has degraded over time. For a retainer, you won't have a problem.
As for calming your nerves without drowsiness, Dramamine may work, but it does make SOME people sleepy. I'd recommend an iPod or a something - something you can enjoy with your eyes closed, to distract you. Deep breaths, talking with a passenger near you, reading the airline magazine - anything to concentrate on other than the thumps and bumps of takeoff. After that, just nap. It's the only productive thing you can do on a commercial flight, anyway. ;-)