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months, while others advise six to 12 months before
resuming diving (or other activities that put stress on
the teeth). Please follow your dentist’s recommendations
about healing time. While some dentists may not know
diving, they should have a recommendation about how
long to avoid dental stress.
The final steps are relatively simple and will not
appreciably affect diving. The inserted titanium implant
is topped with a small post. The dentist will access
the post and place the final appliance. This may be a
crown, an anchoring point for a bridge or a similar
reconstruction. If the osseointegration has already
occurred, diving can generally be resumed after a few
weeks to allow the gums to heal.
Once the final device or crown is in place, the implant
can be treated like any other tooth. Keep it brushed and
flossed, and it should serve you well. Consider a trial run
in a pool to see how the bite wings of your regulator’s
mouthpiece fit the final reconstruction.
— Frances Smith, MS, DMT, EMT-P
Q:
I have a student who has a neurostimulator for
back pain. What exactly is a neurostimulator,
and are there any implications for diving?
A:
Neurostimulators are surgically implanted
devices that have some similarity to cardiac
pacemakers. Used for chronic pain as well as
other conditions ranging from gastrointestinal problems
to Parkinson’s disease, they are implanted under the skin
and have leads (wires) that run from the de
vice to the
areas in need of stimulation. Neurostim
ulators used
for chronic back pain are often placed in the abdomen
or upper part of the buttocks, and the leads are placed
in the epidural space near the spinal cord. As with other
implanted electrical devices, there are some issues divers
should consider relative to both the device itself and the
underlying medical condition.
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