Dental and orofacial barotraumas among Saudi Military Naval Divers in King Abdul Aziz Naval Base Armed Forces in Jubail, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

A BSTRACT Background: The aim of this study was to assess dental as well as orofacial pain under atmospheric pressure in military divers. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in King Abdulaziz Naval Base Armed Forces (KANB) in Jubail, Saudi Arabia involving 216 Saudi military divers. Questionnaire was formulated to assess the prevalence and factors associated with dental as well as orofacial pain among divers. Results: Of total 216 participants, 35.6% participants dive 10-50times/year; whereas 52.8% dive in more than 20 m depth and 67.2% dive in the atmospheric pressure of >1.5bar. Majority (81.9%) used compressed air when diving. Sudden pain during or after diving was experienced by 67.1% in head or facial area, 69.2% in nose and paranasal sinuses, and 52.3% have experienced dental injury. Statistically significant associations were found between pain during diving with a frequency of diving, diving depth, and atmospheric pressure with P < 0.001, 0.001, and 0.011, respectively. Conclusion: Through this study, we concluded that dental and orofacial pain were experienced by more than half of the military divers at least once during their dive. Factors like increased frequency of diving, deep divers, and increased atmospheric pressure increases the extent of pain. Findings of this study suggested that more studies focusing on diving centers should be performed to realize the complete range of the issue.

Relationships among barodontalgia prevalence, altitude, stress, dental care frequency, and barodontalgia awareness: a survey of Turkish pilots

“…Regular dental checks are important for flight crews, with particular emphasis on preventive treatments. Barodontalgia can be significantly reduced through proper root and tooth care ( Alwohaibi et al, 2020 ).…”

Barotrauma y barodontalgia en la aviación

“…Se clasifica este fenómeno en directo, cuando el dolor es inducido por las piezas dentales, e indirecto, cuando la causa no son las piezas dentales, como es el caso de la barosinusitis (5). una exacerbación de una patología preexistente, más que una patología en sí misma (9,10).…”