Can You Fly With a Tooth Infection?

You have a holiday booked, the suitcases are packed… and suddenly a tooth starts throbbing.

One of the questions we are often asked is: “Can I still fly if I have a tooth infection?”

The short answer is that you may physically be able to fly with a dental infection, but it is not something we would recommend ignoring before you travel. Apart from the risk of the infection becoming worse while you are away, changes in air pressure during a flight can sometimes make an already unhappy tooth considerably more painful.

Why can toothache feel worse when flying?

Although aircraft cabins are pressurised, the pressure inside the cabin is lower than it is at ground level. As the aircraft climbs and descends, the change in atmospheric pressure can affect trapped air or gas within enclosed spaces in the body.

This is well recognised in the ears and sinuses, but it can also affect teeth. Untreated dental problems can become painful during changes in cabin pressure.

The resulting tooth pain associated with changes in atmospheric pressure is sometimes called barodontalgia.

A completely healthy tooth should not normally hurt simply because you are flying. If a tooth becomes painful during a flight, there is often an underlying dental problem that needs investigating.

What if I already know I have a tooth infection?

A dental infection or abscess is caused by bacteria affecting the tooth or surrounding tissues. It may cause:

• persistent or throbbing toothache

• pain when biting

• sensitivity to hot or cold

• swelling of the gum, face or jaw

• a bad taste in the mouth

• difficulty opening the mouth

• fever or feeling generally unwell.

A dental abscess requires dental treatment and will not simply disappear on its own.

Flying itself does not necessarily make the bacteria in an infection suddenly spread. The difficulty is that the tooth may become significantly more painful during the flight, and the infection itself can continue to develop while you are travelling.

That is not something you want to discover halfway through a long-haul flight or on the first evening of your holiday.

Should I see a dentist before I fly?

Yes, if at all possible.

If you have toothache, swelling or think you may have a dental infection before travelling, arrange a dental assessment rather than simply hoping it will settle while you are away.

Depending on the cause, treatment might involve draining an abscess, root canal treatment or removing the affected tooth. The appropriate treatment will depend on the individual tooth and the extent of the infection.

Sometimes the most important thing we can do before somebody travels is establish exactly what is causing the pain and assess the likelihood of it deteriorating while they are away.

Will antibiotics make it safe to fly?

Not necessarily.

Antibiotics can be appropriate for some dental infections, particularly when there is spreading infection or systemic involvement, but they do not remove the underlying dental cause.

For example, if bacteria are inside a dead or infected tooth, definitive treatment may still involve drainage, root canal treatment or extraction.

So taking antibiotics should not be regarded as a way of simply “covering” a dental problem until you return from holiday.

When should you definitely seek urgent help?

Do not simply board a flight and hope for the best if you have significant or rapidly increasing swelling, particularly if you are becoming unwell.

Seek urgent dental assessment if you believe you have a dental abscess.

More serious dental infections can occasionally spread into the surrounding tissues.

Difficulty breathing, swallowing or speaking, extensive swelling of the mouth or neck, severe difficulty opening the mouth, or swelling affecting the eye require urgent medical attention.

What if my tooth only hurts when I fly?

Don't ignore that either.

If you experience toothache during take-off or landing that disappears again once you are on the ground, it is still worth mentioning to your dentist.

Pressure changes may have exposed an underlying problem that was not otherwise causing obvious symptoms.

Flying soon? Get the tooth checked first

Dental problems have an unfortunate habit of making themselves known at exactly the wrong moment.

If you develop toothache in the days before travelling, the safest approach is to have it assessed before you fly rather than relying on painkillers and hoping it behaves itself.

In many cases the problem may be relatively straightforward to manage. More importantly, you will know what you are dealing with before you leave home — rather than trying to find an emergency dentist somewhere unfamiliar while you should be enjoying your holiday.

If you are away from home and experiencing toothache, information about emergency managment can be read here.

If you're due to travel and have developed toothache, swelling or sensitivity, contact us for advice and arrange an assessment before you fly.