Emergency dental repair kit

No experience with them. In fact I had never heard of them. What is the cost? If the cost is reasonable enough and it will give you additional peace of mind, you might want to bring one. This might be a great discussion to have with your dentist.
Remember to use only bottled water, even when brushing your teeth.

PS avoid all sticky foods :)

I have one of those kits (purchased at Rite Aid), on recommendation of my dentist who knows of my travels. Fortunately there has been no opportunity to use it, and I'm not sure I would since I'm squirmish to have a professional work on my mouth let alone myself:) I suppose I take it along for the karma factor......if I have it I will never need it, the first time I don't pack it bad things will happen;)

http://tinyurl.com/jdtlptb

Carol,

They cost about $6. Yes, I won't make the sticky food mistake again. And yes we know about using bottled water for brushing our teeth having traveled to a couple of countries where this is an issue. In fact, we are careful even in the shower not to get a drop of water in our mouths.

Hi Michael,

I am not squeamish about using the kit. It seems pretty straightforward. Thanks for letting me know your dentist recommended it. The only advice my dentist gave was to use denture cream to hold a crown in place temporarily.

This is an odd thing to worry about....have you had a dental problem while traveling in the past? Of course on Safari, you could call the local witch doctor.

I carried Dent Temp (I think that's what it was called) for years without needing it, but, then, a fellow tour member had a filling come loose and he was able to hold it back in place with it. Reminds me that I should replace it in my travel kit.

Hi Richard,

As I said in original post, I had a crown fall out when I was in Peru and old fillings (and I don't have many of those any more as most of my fillings have been replaced with crowns) can disintegrate without warning. We will be in the bush for at least 7 days and medical help is a long distance away. I'm trying to be prepared so that I don't have to interrupt my trip because of a dental emergency that could be fixed temporarily.

Thanks, Nancy. That's what I wanted to know.

I also had a crown dislodge in Italy when I ate a sticky gumdrop. I forgot that I'd given them up. I had to go almost 3 weeks before returning home to get it taken care of.
Now I have a fine new crown that was carved by a CNC machine out of a solid piece of porcelain in 6 minutes.
If it makes you feel better, carry a dental kit with you.

Thanks, David. We'll be in Tanzania and the closest half way decent medical help would be in Nairobi, Kenya or Dar Es Salaam which would mean a long drive and a flight out of where we would be on safari. I'm just trying to cover my bases. It would make me feel better to have the kit. There are a lot more considerations when you take a trip like this than going to Europe.

Mary, I was just in Rwanda earlier this summer. I know you will enjoy your time in East Africa!

Mary,
I've never used the emergency dental repair kit, but I'd take it along, if I were going on safari.

I'd also recommend asking your doctor for prescriptions for medicines you may need, such as:

• Antibiotic to treat "Traveler's Diarrhea"
• Medication to prevent Malaria

Make sure you have all the necessary vaccinations recommended as well (Typhoid, Hepatitis A, etc..)

You may want to check the CDC website for more information about the recommended vaccines & medicines:http://www.cdc.gov

Enjoy your safari adventure!

Mary o have carried a emergency fill kit ( don't recall name) when on longer trips, my teeth can not be trusted lol

I am perhaps over cautious in Europe , but I think you are being prudent in your situation.

I have never had to use it on travels, hubby did end up using it last year, here at home on a weekend while waiting to go in on Monday. It worked fine

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies. We do have all our immunizations per the CDC website, cipro, antimalarials. Having older teeth, I just want to be prepared. I would hate to have a tooth issue ruin our trip. It's helps to know that others have used this dental repair kit and that it worked.

Mary, thanks for mentioning this. I had no idea there was such a thing. I can see how even a minor dental problem could ruin a trip.

Hi Stan,

Under normal circumstances on a trip to Europe, I wouldn't worry. You can find a qualified dentist in Europe. But in Africa, it's a bit different. The standards of care are not great not to mention even getting to a dentist when you are in the bush. The guidebooks recommend seeking medical care in Nairobi, Kenya or Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania which are a very long distance from where we will be for most of our trip.

It's a very cheap insurance policy. Just having this kit in your possession will ensure that you will not have any dental issues!!!!!

But it makes me wonder if dental issues are covered under that travel medical insurance I always purchase. Hmm!! I should check that out.

Hi Elaine,

Right. Having the kit is like carrying an umbrella or snow boots in the winter to ward off rain or snow. I just checked my insurance and it covers $500 for dental.

The cement used to hold crowns can deteriorate in time. It's not unusual for crowns to fall off or be pulled off by sticky foods. My dentist tells patients to use denture adhesive until a dentist can be seen. He also pointed out to me that there is a trapezoidal shape in the crown that corresponds to the shape drilled into the tooth. It can usually be snapped and locked back into place if you can put it back in it's original position. Often you won't have any pain either.

Hi Silas,

Absolutely good advice which I also had from a dentist re: crowns that fall out when you're away from home. The crown that I lost in Peru was caused by underlying decay that could not be detected by my annual x rays and the sticky toffee exacerbated the situation i.e. the crown was loose and easily pulled off. I did get denture cream when I was in Cuzco and put the crown back in place until I got home. I didn't have any pain thankfully. We were on a tour and the tour guide would have gotten me to a dentist if I needed one but I didn't. My dentist redid my crown when I got home. All good. Hopefully nothing happens healthwise in Africa but it doesn't hurt to have a first aid kit. I'm trying to cover contingencies as best I can.

Same thing happened to me as did David. In Rome, about a week into our holiday and I ate something and lost part of a filling or tooth. I had this crunching noise and I'm like...uh oh. Spent the next week poking at the darn thing, as you are won't to do when you have a new 'hole' in your mouth.

Hi Nicole,

That couldn't have been fun. I hope at least you were not in pain before you saw a dentist. So, yes, stuff happens on a trip. We can't foresee all contingencies but at least we can put together some kind of first aid kit to get us through.

No pain - I think most of the tooth was filling anyway. Just the annoyance of poking at it with my tongue :)

Glad to hear that, Nicole. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. There's almost nothing worse than a toothache.

US dental care has gotten so expensive and insurance so lousy that its "almost" cheaper to go overseas. Almost is good enough to offset some of the cost of the vacation trip. Here is my dentist in Budapest: https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/11392999_949414175092712_9150383677557862327_n.jpg?oh=3833e9859b964020da2701b544c8e2df&oe=58182F03

Okay, well, despite the appearance she was able to save a tooth my dentist in the US wanted to pull; and for a fraction of the cost.

If nothing else is available some chewing gum can be used to for a temporary cap if a nerve is exposed on a broken tooth or filling.

Yes, I had read that as well. I believe it should be sugarless gum that is used.

If it becomes painful there is a product called Palinka that will deaden the pain almost immediately. You can purchase it over the counter and with out a prescription.

Hi James,

I googled palinka and all I can find is an alcoholic drink from Hungary and not a medication. Is this something you can purchase here in the US at a pharmacy?

You can find it in many liquor stores. It cures tooth aches, back pains, head aches, temperament issues, depression and in cold weather a little in your gas tank will help start the car. OR, it doesn't but you generally don't care by the time the bottle is empty so yes, maybe it does work.

Honestly, my dental emergency kit has always been: a medium-sized bottle of Ibuprofen ("Advil") and a ticket home within the next month - and I've gone to some pretty remote places for extended trips. I suppose it depends how long you're going to be way off the beaten path. For just two weeks away, I'd never resort to do-it-yourself dentistry. If I was going to be far, far away from anyplace where I could get reasonable emergency dental care for more than say, a month or two, then I might consider one of those "kits" but really, I do not want to mess with such things under sketchy conditions. If I crack a tooth or have similar bad luck, I'd probably tough it out until I got home as long as it wasn't more than a few weeks.

When you venture to the ends of the earth, it's a good idea to remind yourself frequently that you are far, far away from many comforts, services and other things you might wish you had if you take chances and things go sideways. When I'm really out on the edge, beyond the middle of nowhere, I am pretty careful with all sorts of things (including what I put in my mouth).

Most places I go have dentists. If that sort of thing concerns you go to US Embassy web site for each country you will be visiting and ask for a list of doctors. Most embassies keep such lists. Carry the contact information with you. In a way a trip to a local medical professional adds to the cultural experience and can further define the differences in life between your home country and that which you are visiting.

My dentist told me that it's important to protect the stub of the tooth if a crown falls off, no matter how quickly you can get an emergency appointment. The easiest way is to snap the crown back into place but other materials could be fashioned if necessary. He said that the stub is often easily damaged (it's not enamel!) which could lead to a repair more complex and costly than simply re-cementing. Pins....hooks....yikes!

Seriously, I wonder whether the folks who don't understand dental cocerns are younger than the rest of us, don't have a mouth full of deteriorating fillings that are decades old, and have never needed a root canal. Let's just say that I don't fit that profile! The sort of dental pain I've experienced waiting for an emergency appointment is not something I could tolerate until the end of a vacation. If for some reason local care wasn't available when something went wrong, I'd be paying the one-way walk-up fare back home (or to a place like Hungary). Dental pain is frequently from an infection, and it's not something to ignore.

I don't travel with a repair kit, just with some dental cement. But in 2014 I paid out of pocket for crowns on three teeth my dentist had been watching for several years. Those teeth were obviously going to crumble at some point, and I didn't want to have that possibility hanging over me when I was out of the country. My trips these days are long ones, and when I finally get around to visiting places like the Galapagos, I won't worry about needing a dentist.

I don't travel with a repair kit, just with some dental cement.

That's what a repair kit is.....dental cement with a plastic thingy to apply it.

I agree with acraven's comment.. Teeth problems are a problem for the baby boomer generation. So unless you've had these issues, it's probably hard to relate. My husband and I have very few teeth that need crowns at this point and are getting those done asap. But even crowns can fail as I found out on my trip to Peru. Underlying problems with crowns cannot be detected on routine x-rays.

Not a contest I'd be particularly proud to win, but I'd stack up my mouth full of crowns, implants, fillings (many of them with decades of wear and tare on them) and a long lifetime list of serious dental issues against any of yours (yeah, and turn that music down and get off my lawn...). I've spent a lot of time "in the chair" so don't poo-poo my large-bottle-of-Advil-dental-plan thinking that I just don't know what it's like when things going wrong in your mouth. I know all about agony. I also know my tolerance for pain, and I know very well how my body responds to over-the-counter pain meds. I have a lifetime of experience with dental procedures, enough to know that I really do not want to have any done on me when I'm in the middle of nowhere, either self-administered or by well-intentioned but ill-equipped "bush dentists."

Knowing all this, I do make it a point to have my oral business in order well in advance of any foreign travel. I'm pretty well in-touch with what's going on with my dental issues (regular visits to the dentist helps, but I don't rely entirely on xrays and other info provided by my dentist - I know more about what's stirring there than they do). I'm also quite careful while on a trip. Sticky toffee - are you serious? To me, that would be like sticking a loaded shotgun in my mouth and fiddling with the trigger! No, thank you!

Of course, everyone's different and you do what you think is right for you, but I'm not going to become an ad-hoc self-dentist unless I've reached a Tom Hanks/Cast Away level of desperation. Short of that, I know a bottle of ibuprofen will get me through until I can reach the relative comfort (well, relief) of my dentist or some reasonable substitute, even if that takes a couple weeks. To each their own (but no chewing gum for me, thanks, at home or in the Sahara).

Careful how you chew out there!

I'd take the kit. The most common problem is if you break a tooth with a large filling. Crowns can be set back in using the kit or denture adhesive etc. no big deal, but if a tooth breaks then you want to be very careful to not chew on it and cause further damage to the thin walls of the remaining tooth. Us older generation have teeth that originally had small fillings but as the filling wears out it is replaced, and replaced etc. until the tooth is mostly filling. It is then that the tooth can not hold more filling that a crown is recommended. By then the walls of the tooth are very thin and can break easily. The biggest problem is if the break extends down the root- then you can not save the tooth. So, if you "lose a filling" more likely you have also lost part of the wall of the tooth. Apply the kit to make it more comfortable, and don't chew on that tooth. When you get home you will need a crown. But, even with old large filled teeth, you'll probably be just fine!

Thanks again everybody for your input. I'm sure everything will be fine but I'm kind of a belt and suspenders kind of girl so I like to be as prepared as possible. I can't say that my trips are always without incident but having some things in place certainly helps (at least with peace of mind). And when things do go awry it makes for some interesting travel memories.

Hi there, I agree with you that avoiding dental repair kit is best and we should consult a dentist because my sister had done a dental bonding from the dentist and after some week it came out and it was painful and finally she visited to Caldentalgroup suggested by her friend and they provide her best treatment. So its better that we should visit our dentist and have a permanent solution. According to me we should consult a good dentist.