Diving with linguals

[Bandini]

Hi,

I couldn't really find an answer googling but has anyone tried diving or snorkeling with linguals (I have top only), think it'll be ok but would be good to have a more definitive answer.
(fwiw I only got them two days ago and interested in diving in 4 weeks time, first adjustment planned in 8 weeks)

[Startedout]

Hey there!

I'm 3 weeks in to my incognito braces treatment and honestly the first few days was rough for me but being on the third week, the pain was gone.

I'm not sure how linguals work but I imagine it would be the same, I don't think you should have a problem but definitely talk to your ortho before doing it. He/she will give you a better idea!

I hope it all goes well and congrats!

[Prometheus]

Bandini, For what its worth, I've made about 75 dives since I got my braces 8 months ago, no problem at all. Mine are conventional (buccal?) braces not lingual ones. I would imagine the lingual ones are even less problematic as at most they might interact with the bite tabs of your second stage. I travel all over the world to dive and worried there might be a problem, especially in remote places, but I was worrying for nothing, it's no big deal. Were are you headed to dive?

[Bandini]

Good to hear thanks, going on a 2day liveaboard trip in Cairns, Australia. Not very experienced (only 3 dives before) but really looking forward to this one.


I'm confused, aren't incognito braces the same as lingual braces? Or do you mean invisalign?
10 days in and no pain as of yet, maybe will get worse after the first adjustment or when teeth start moving but so far all good. Speech improving quite a lot so by this rate hopefully I have it mostly under control by Christmas.

[Prometheus]

Hi Bandini, Yes, InCognito braces are lingual (tongue side of the teeth) braces. Conventional braces are on the cheek side, which I believe is known as the buccal side. As I said, it's very unlikely you'll have any issues at all with the mouthpiece of your regulator's second stage. The only part that might contact your lingual brackets are the small bite tabs on the mouth piece. This is in contrast to conventional braces where the entire mouthpiece contacts all the front brackets. I have Damon brackets on the top and bottom which are buccal. As I said, I have zero problems and the mouthpiece is fully in contact with the braces in the front. It is a bit of a mouthful at first but you get used to it in minutes. Nothing has broken, so far, touch wood! The cement holding the brackets is very strong, the regulator mouth piece is soft silicone rubber and puts very little stress on the brackets. I think you will love two days on the Great Barrier Reef, its beautiful, we were there in 2011. I'm a big live aboard fan, it really is the best way to go diving. Also, you might enjoy reading this article posted on the Archwired website: http://www.archwired.com/snorkel_and_braces.htm Have fun.

[Bandini]

Didn't see the reply but after your response I'm glad I did enough research and decided on the 2night dive trip and not the one day thing. Feel like I'll get used to the braces while diving easily enough. Will try to remember and post feedback after the experience.

For people researching lingual braces, I have only tried using wax last weekend for the first time to go to a few house parties and my speech is practically normal if I use it (and without it, after 15days, only a small lisp remains). Didn't even mention it to people who didn't know as it was not noticeable at all.
I've read some nightmare stories about speech and food but having now used wax I can only give good feedback wrt lingual braces, haven't eaten too many challenging things because I want to be careful about breaking but cutting things up in small pieces should sort out most food situations. The strange feeling of having metal in my mouth also didn't really last long, can't imagine going to work or seeing too many people the first 3 or so days but after that it's very manageable in my personal experience so far.

[Bandini]

(cant find the edit button).
Do keep in mind I only have linguals on the top, so experiences with both or bottom only might be very different.

BTW the one person I asked if my speech was affected (after he offered me a whole carrot as a late night snack and obv had to say no thx ) hadn't noticed all night and turned out he's had bottom linguals for last few months too. Coincidence but he seemed happy with the experience so far too fwiw.

[Bandini]

I feel like I might as well update as more information might help others make a more informed decision.

Diving was no problem, although I had to be a bit more careful biting down on the mouth piece (often just used my hand to relieve some of the pressure and make the mouth piece move around less). Little bit sore after doing 5 dives but not a big deal. (ps- all my dives were absolutely amazing)

I'm 3-4 months in now and it's actually been very comfortable. I eat pretty much everything except baguettes, hard candy/chocolate, and nuts, but even burgers and pizza I cut into pieces and use the side of my mouth to chew. Perhaps I should be more careful but so far so good and no complaints from dentist. It's actually nice in a way to eat more slowly, like when I really want crisps I can have them but won't devour the whole bag because it's not worth the effort to concentrate eating carefully once I had my fix
Speech is pretty much fine, I use the wax (did notice there's quite a difference in quality when ordering different ones on line) when going out but even when I forget it's not a big deal.
Got a waterpik flosser btw which I recommend as a nice little extra comfort tool.

However, I am getting elastics to fix overbite (noticeable overbite at the moment but teeth have moved a lot already) next month so maybe this is where things will become a struggle or painful (no pain at all so far) will see.
When I did research I read mostly negative stories so thought I'd put mine out there and this impacts my life so little I can't imagine why I ever even considered the invisalign option, that seems like much more of a daily struggle.