Snorkels that don't require biting

[stonflo]

This is not a wind up . I do not have my own teeth and neither can I wear false teeth. wouldlike to join my wife when she goes snorkeling. i have tried what can only be described as a standard mouth piece but I cannot close my gums to grip the mouth piece. Can anybody suggest a sensible solution.
Stonflo( Mike)

[Ben Panter]

Hi Mike,

I can't think of a product on the market which would help, although I wonder if there is something you could do to adapt a snorkel to work - do you think you would be able to hold onto a gum shield? Perhaps you could glue that onto a snorkel mouth piece, and use that to maintain grip on the tube? The job of the teeth is purely to hold the tube in position, while the lips provide a seal around the flange of the snorkel.

It is possible to buy larger mouthpieces for regulators which might be suitable - try finding your local dive shop and asking them if they have anything that could be adapted.

Some people to contact are the Scuba Trust (http://www.scubatrust.org.uk/HTML/home.htm). They have experience in altering diving equipment for disabled divers, and may be able to give you some pointers.

Best of luck,

Ben

PS: I've changed your title to be a little more descriptive

[PeteM]

This is not a wind up . I do not have my own teeth and neither can I wear false teeth. wouldlike to join my wife when she goes snorkeling. i have tried what can only be described as a standard mouth piece but I cannot close my gums to grip the mouth piece. Can anybody suggest a sensible solution.
Stonflo( Mike)

What you need is a comfy grip mouth piece and a snorkel that takes a standard scuba mouth piece (I have one made by Mares). Put the two together and you should be OK. Comy grip works by holding on to the palete rather than the teeth

[Gareth]

I'm not sure, but I 'think' you can get scuba mouthpieces that can be molded to fit an individual's mouth (rather like gum shields). This might help.

As already stated contacting the scuba trust is a good idea, they must have similar issues to deal with.

Gareth

[David Walker]

If the alternative mouthpiece options don't work, if you can get the mouthpiece at least in the right place in your mouth then you could try something a bit less conventional by using a bit of bungee to hold it in your mouth. I know of some divers who do this so they don't lose the reg if they fall unconscious or anything like that - just a bit of bungee around the mouthpiece and adjusted to its just tight enough to hold it in place.

Might work...?

David

[stonflo]

Thanks for all your help I think I've found a mouth piece that should work ok.
Going to Cuba next year to try it out.
Stonflo(Mike)

[Scary Monster]

It might be worth trying it out in a pool at home before then!

If what you've got doesn't work try finding a snorkel with a largeish flange (the bit that goes between your lips and your gums) and using it with a mask and tuck the tube of the snorkel under the mask strap so it's between your head and the strap. Close inspection of one of my old ones shows I've chewed off the bits that you bite onto and it stays in just fine like that.

[Wil Bateman]

It may not be the mouthpiece that requires adaption. In fact I can't think of any way of getting enough grip with no teeth in place and also forming a proper seal without the lip support.

There is a case in a dental journal that involved designing a new denture modified to grip the snorkel or mouthpiece properly.

Dentures are mentioned in the Sports Diver Medical:
"Dentures must be retained in place on fully opening the mouth and not be dislodged by placing jaws together in any position, or by movement of one denture against the other. They should extend to the muco-buccal fold. If dentures do not satisfy these requirements, they should not be worn while diving"

If you PM me an e-mail address I can send you a copy of the paper to show your own dentist and they might be prepared to take a stab at it for you.

I reckon it would be easy enough to do. But would not be a national health jobbie, A set of complete dentures is over £600 in my practice!

Hope this helps!
Wil

[Scary Monster]

Without wishing to be simple, where he says ' I can't wear false teeth' kind of rules out all the denture lines....

[anna mc]

hi, i'm a dental technician who's been asked to design something for a similar case [no teeth and doesn't want to wear her dentures snorkling]

re post of 27/10/06 mike stonflo...what have you found that you think will work????

i've seen seaCURE custom mouthpieces advertised do you think they would work??

[K-Celtic-Diver]

Hi. New to this forum but saw this thread and thought I might be able to help. There are several mouthpieces available that I have found. The 2 best I have found are: Manta Bite (about $40 US from Mantabite.com) and the Aqualung Comfo-Bite ( about $9.00 us from leisurepro.com )

I have a full upper denture and these work for me. Hope it helps.:)

[DRW]

This is not a wind up . I do not have my own teeth and neither can I wear false teeth. wouldlike to join my wife when she goes snorkeling. i have tried what can only be described as a standard mouth piece but I cannot close my gums to grip the mouth piece. Can anybody suggest a sensible solution. Stonflo( Mike)

Here are two problem-solvers which would have obtained in the early days of snorkelling:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/VivienVogel/GreekShow025m.jpg
http://www.majorcasub.gr/products/03-004.jpg

You'll have to click each of the links to see what I mean because the forum we are on doesn't permit image posting. Read the Medfish thread too where these images were first posted and you'll see a similar problem being solved in this way:

http://www.medfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4185&p=58731#p58731

Greece seems to have the monopoly of this kind of gear, which shouldn't present problems within the limited context of surface use. The Health and Safety industry has otherwise killed off the production of these items, which were relatively common during the 1950s.

[Roz]

The only mouthpiece I am aware of that doesn't require biting is the Manta Mouthpiece. http://www.manta-bite.com/

The idea behind it is that the inside sits between your jaw and your cheek and holds the mouthpiece in place. I'd get a normal snorkel, ie with one that has a self draining valve, and removable mouthpiece. I'd replace the snorkel mouthpiece with a Manta Mouthpiece and away you go. I think that this will be kind enough on your mouth without stressing your jaw too much. The mouthpiece is made from a high quality silicone and the designer is a dentist.

Please let us know how you get on.

[ChristianG]

The only mouthpiece I am aware of that doesn't require biting is the Manta Mouthpiece.
Roz,

Having been caught by this quite few times myself, did you notice the the original thread was '06 vintage? :)

[Jed]

Wonder how he got on then.

[DRW]

Wonder how he got on then.

Well, the original poster did suggest in message #6 on this thread that he had found a suitable mouthpiece. As he only ever posted twice, both times in this thread, I guess we'll never know.

Incidentally, I'm not sure it's always inappropriate to respond to an old thread. I've occasionally come across old forum threads which fizzled out originally because none of the respondents had the necessary knowledge or experience to contribute anything really constructive. If the topic remains relevant to current practice, it can be worth revisiting the thread to correct misconceptions and to shed new light. We have to remember that some people arrive at old threads via Google and accept what they read as "gospel".

I also think that we shouldn't do anything to cut down non-spam traffic in our snorkelling forum. Other snorkelling forums such as the one in Scubaboard have the means of displaying snorkelling pictures, a facility curtailed here. I for one would like to see the return of the image facility, which I know was suspended a while ago because of spammers. Maybe the answer is what other forums do. Don't allow anybody to post links of any kind until they have posted at least five kosher messages.

[Hamish]

Hi DRW.

Incidentally, I'm not sure it's always inappropriate to respond to an old thread.

I agree, new and updated information should always be welcomed no matter how old the thread.

I also think that we shouldn't do anything to cut down non-spam traffic in our snorkelling forum.

Agreed, if we cut down non spam what are we left with, very little or indeed nothing.

Other snorkelling forums such as the one in Scubaboard have the means of displaying snorkelling pictures, a facility curtailed here. I for one would like to see the return of the image facility, which I know was suspended a while ago because of spammers. Maybe the answer is what other forums do. Don't allow anybody to post links of any kind until they have posted at least five kosher messages.

You can of course show a link to your photo's, video's if located on another server so long as it is not offensive, if it is then of course the link/thread/post will I'm sure be deleted by the MOD's.

regards

Hamish

[Jed]

[QUOTE=DRW]Well, the original poster did suggest in message #6 on this thread that he had found a suitable mouthpiece.QUOTE]

What I should have said was - I wonder how he got on in Cuba.
It seems a shame not to come back and tell us all about the trip and if the equipment worked.:)

[DRW]

[QUOTE=DRW]Well, the original poster did suggest in message #6 on this thread that he had found a suitable mouthpiece.QUOTE]

What I should have said was - I wonder how he got on in Cuba.
It seems a shame not to come back and tell us all about the trip and if the equipment worked.:)

I agree. It's a shame that many snorkellers come on to forums like ours, post a question, then vanish, never to return. The process of learning for everybody is best served when the original poster provides a modicum of feedback on the responses he or she has received. It's even better, as you say, when OPs describe how they put the advice into practice.

[swi2743333]

hi. i also have lost many teeth and my front ones are all crowns.

found this product on the web and thought you all would want to know about it

http://www.manta-bite.com/

ive not tried one myself but looks a great product.. perfect for the dentally challenged :cool: