Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Endodontics, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Üsküdar, Türkiye.
Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Sisli, Türkiye.
PeerJ. 2024 Apr 19;12:e17290. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17290. eCollection 2024.
Gas expansion in body cavities due to pressure changes at high altitudes can cause barodontalgia. This condition may compromise flight safety.
To investigate relationships among barodontalgia awareness, dental visit frequency, and barodontalgia prevalence in civilian and military pilots operating at high altitudes.
Civilian pilots from Turkish Airlines and military pilots from the Turkish Air Force, flying between November 2022 and January 2023, participated in this study. A 20-question survey was administered to 750 pilots, covering topics such as barodontalgia awareness, dental visit frequency, breaks after dental treatments, in-flight pain, and pain type and severity. The voluntary surveys were distributed by email.
Of the 750 pilots, 526 completed the survey; 61% were aware of barodontalgia, and 81% of pilots who had experienced it reported pain at altitudes <2000 feet. The study revealed higher barodontalgia awareness among pilots who had experienced it, with the highest prevalence among jet pilots. Pilots with barodontalgia also showed a higher frequency of dental visits ( < 0.001). Additionally, this group reported more frequent interruption of flight due to dental treatment (IFDT), more problems experienced in flights after treatment (PFAT), and higher instances of bruxism or teeth clenching during flight, suggesting stress and anxiety ( < 0.05).
Barodontalgia, a type of pain linked to stress, significantly impacts pilot performance, and can threaten flight safety, even at lower altitudes. Thus, there is a need to educate pilots about stress management, barodontalgia awareness, and the importance of regular dental check-ups.
由于高空压力变化，体腔内的气体膨胀会导致气压性牙痛。这种情况可能会危及飞行安全。
调查在高海拔地区飞行的民用和军用飞行员对气压性牙痛的认识、看牙频率与气压性牙痛发生率之间的关系。
土耳其航空公司的民用飞行员和土耳其空军的军事飞行员参加了这项研究。在 2022 年 11 月至 2023 年 1 月期间，向 750 名飞行员发放了一份包含 20 个问题的调查问卷，内容涵盖气压性牙痛的认知、看牙频率、牙病治疗后休息时间、飞行中疼痛以及疼痛类型和严重程度等方面。这些自愿调查是通过电子邮件分发的。
在 750 名飞行员中，有 526 名完成了调查；61%的飞行员知晓气压性牙痛，81%曾经历过气压性牙痛的飞行员报告在海拔<2000 英尺时会感到疼痛。研究表明，有过气压性牙痛经历的飞行员对其认知度更高，其中喷气机飞行员的发病率最高。有气压性牙痛的飞行员看牙频率也更高（<0.001）。此外，该组飞行员报告因牙病治疗而中断飞行（IFDT）的情况更频繁，治疗后飞行中出现问题（PFAT）的情况更多，在飞行中磨牙或咬紧牙齿的情况也更常见，表明他们在飞行中承受了更大的压力和焦虑（<0.05）。
气压性牙痛是一种与压力相关的疼痛，会显著影响飞行员的表现，并可能威胁飞行安全，即使在较低的海拔高度也是如此。因此，有必要教育飞行员了解压力管理、气压性牙痛认知以及定期牙科检查的重要性。
