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Faced with a Dental Emergency whilst traveling?: Here’s What You Can Do
You could consider purchasing medical insurance when making travel plans abroad, but then what about your dental requirements? When traveling, dental issues really are the last thing on your mind. Dental emergencies, however, can occur at any time and anywhere. Consider how a toothache would ruin a great vacation or business trip. We are going to give you some tips and tricks on how to manage a dental emergency and offer some advice from a dentist on how to get ready for your vacation.
What to Do in a Traveling Dental Emergency
The type of dental emergency you face will determine what you do about it. Here is a list of the most typical dental crises and what to do in each case.
A Cracked or Broken Tooth
Whether you accidentally bit down on something too hard or you couldn’t resist that particular local candy treat, breaking or cracking a tooth requires quick care. To assist in relieving the pain caused from the swelling, rinse your mouth out first, then apply a cold compress to your face. To make sure the right care is given, you’ll also need to locate a dentist or go to the local emergency room.
A Toothache
We should first point out that experiencing dental discomfort when flying is actually rather common. Air pressure imbalances are to blame for this. We are unaware that the little gaps between our teeth might let air in. When flying, that air expands once it is in the air. Fortunately, the discomfort should go away after you land. Just remember that this indicates that you have a pre-existing issue that your dentist should examine when you come home.
It may be something as small as having something stuck between your teeth if the ache doesn’t go away or appears when you reach your destination. To check if it helps, try flossing and mouthwash. If not, over-the-counter medications, oral analgesics, or clove oil can be used to alleviate persistent discomfort. Make sure that you make an appointment with your dentist as soon as you get home.
Fallen Out or Knocked Out Tooth
If you act quickly after having a tooth knocked out, you may be able to salvage the tooth. You could take the following actions to save your tooth:
- Without contacting the root end or rubbing the tooth, hold the tooth by the crown and gently rinse it with water.
- Locate the tooth and remove it without contacting the root end.
- Place the tooth in milk until you can see a dentist if you can’t replace it.
- Make sure the tooth is properly positioned before re-placing it in the socket.
- Avoid holding the tooth in water or putting it inside of a cloth or napkin since doing so will harm the tissue that will be needed for the tooth to heal after being reimplanted.
The tooth will only live outside of your mouth for around 60 minutes, so you must act quickly.
Find an urgent care dental office right away so they can re-implant your tooth and put a splint to keep it in place.
Finding A Dentist Abroad or when you are Traveling
The difficulty of this depends on your location. Finding a dentist should be quite simple in Europe, but other regions may handle dental problems differently. The best course of action is to buy dental insurance because companies that offer travel insurance will have a list of the dental facilities that accept coverage. They could advise you on who to call. Hotels are frequently quite helpful in connecting visitors with medical and dental services.
We advise our patients to look up medical and dental facilities online before departing so they may locate emergency care fast in an emergency.
How to Get Ready for a Trip
With the following advice, you may prepare for a dental emergency while traveling:
- Purchase Travel Insurance
Purchase travel insurance that covers dental treatment because it can be an expensive and unexpected expense that you cannot afford. Speak to your HR department to find out whether your benefits include additional travel protection because some benefit plans through your job provide dental care while traveling.
- Hold back on any major dental procedures before traveling
Never schedule significant dental procedures like an extraction or root canal too close to a trip. By doing so, the likelihood of treatment-related crises such infections is greatly reduced. Additionally,it prevents any kind of associated pain during traveling and more discomfort throughout the typical recovery period for more involved treatments.
- Have a dental examination
If you haven’t had a dental exam in a while, making an appointment before you travel will help you find any potential problems. Additionally, you can inform your dentist of your plans so they can provide you further guidance. This adopts a preventative stance to avoid problems, including discomfort during flying or while away from home. Additionally, they can cure conditions like cavities before you leave.
Assemble Your Own Dental Kit
Make sure you take all of your oral hygiene supplies, such as an extra toothbrush or two, floss, and toothpaste. A dental emergency pack can also be a source of comfort if you face problems like a toothache or a damaged tooth. What to put in your emergency dental kit:
- Clove oil
- Oral Analgesic Gel
- Temporary Fillings (for cavities)
- Dental Floss
- Gauze
- Pain Relief Medication
Be Careful of What you Eat
By avoiding things like hard candies and other foods that raise the possibility of cracks, chips, or lost cavities, you can also lower your risk of experiencing a dental emergency. Acidic beverages and other items can also make sensitivity worse. Chomping on drink ice can cause cracks and chips, thus avoiding doing so (ice should be avoided entirely in some countries owing to the danger of stomach illness).
You can handle any dental emergency you may have while traveling with the help of these suggestions. Most individuals don’t consider the prospect of experiencing a dental emergency when traveling, but you may prepare in advance. A dental emergency shouldn’t spoil your time or interfere with your travel plans.
Prior to your trip, make an appointment with your dentist to detect any potential problems, get suggestions, and obtain basic care for things like cavities.
But as always, your best line of protection against tooth pain is prevention.
Need dental advice? Give us a call at 408-720-0900 right away to make an appointment.
To schedule an appointment for any of your dental needs, call us today at 360-858-2080.
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