Dental Preparedness

[CitizenQ]

Mom told me: "brush your teeth Q!" Like a lot of things mom told me in my youth, I didn't listen. So now that I'm over the 50 mile marker I'm dealing with dental issues, and I've become a bit paranoid about having no dentist if things get real bad. It's probably all founded in basic fear, but if the bad times come I wanna be ready, so I've collected all sorts of stuff such as that really good book "Where There Is No Dentist" in addition to universal upper and lower extractors, and a whole bunch of dental tools. My dentist is a great guy. Quite often he'll slip me a kit such as this suture removal kit he gave me yesterday. I really feel like I scored on this one and all I had to do is ask, "please." It sure makes a lot of sense to at least ask. The worst someone's gonna say is "no," eh?

 

[Foilist]

That sure beats knocking your own teeth out with an ice skate like in "Castaway."

 

[CitizenQ]

Ouch! Ya I saw that again a couple of nights ago. That's INSANE. Knocking it in with a rock one could do major damage to one's throat. If things get real bad, better to call Dr. Q who -- for a brick of .22 -- will glady do it for you utilizing said state-of-the art extraction implements. Hooooooooowever...pain relief is presently a unresolved issue...short of the 'ol wooden mallet upside da head that is.

 

[ajcz]

papaver somniferum grow it let it turn into large green orbs on top and score the side in 4 spaces order seeds on the internet after you collect the latex smoke it

viola pain problem solved

 

[white_feather]

I have a collection of dental gear. About two years ago I was at work and chipped a molar while eating. The tooth had a sharp spot and after two hours of it irritating my tongue I took out the file on my Leatherman Blast and ground the sharp edge down. I put some DenTemp from my Altoids PSK in the hole and everything is all good.

 

[penls]

That sure beats knocking your own teeth out with an ice skate like in "Castaway."

I was thinking about that today, while I was eating candy
Tooth decay could be a big problem if you cant go to a dentist

 

[thatmguy]

Oil of Clove works great for temporary relief. :thumbup:

Be sure to try and stock some antibiotics for abcesses, and pain pills in case any teeth crack (better have some strong stuff).

There are kits to make temproary fillings out there too. Often can be found in the pharmacy area of discount/chain stores.

 

[ajcz]

Oil of Clove works great for temporary relief. :thumbup:

Be sure to try and stock some antibiotics for abcesses, and pain pills in case any teeth crack (better have some strong stuff).

There are kits to make temproary fillings out there too. Often can be found in the pharmacy area of discount/chain stores.

if you need heavy stuff look at my earlier post

 

[thatmguy]

Please refer to the FAQ's, esp those related to your earlier post.

Don't do something illegal, or post about illegal activities.

Just becasue you learned the name of the opium poppy is not a sign of superior intellect, esp when you then tell someone to commit a felony.

 

[CitizenQ]

Oil of Clove works great for temporary relief. :thumbup:

Be sure to try and stock some antibiotics for abcesses, and pain pills in case any teeth crack (better have some strong stuff).

There are kits to make temproary fillings out there too. Often can be found in the pharmacy area of discount/chain stores.

Good advice. I've had so much dental work over the past two years and they always give me 20+ painkillers but I never use them. I've stashed quite a horde in the emergency med kit. I've got a few of those pharmacy kits with the temp filling in there too. :thumbup:

 

[STR]

When I was in the service I was a dental tech. About a year before my separation I was moved to a separate oral surgery clinic where I worked until gettting out. During that time I got the chance to assist in a lot of third molar and other difficult type extractions. I learned a great deal about taking out teeth but probably the most shocking thing I learned was that most really good dentists dont' use the forceps to do the majority of the work. In fact I've seen some that did them without ever touching a forcep. (not third molars though) The elevators do the majority of the work going all around and down around the gums relieving the tendons grip keeping the tooth in the socket. Gentle persuasion basically removes the most difficult obstacle.

One of my other jobs was x-ray tech. During that time I had reoccurring patients on occasion. One such patient was a mental patient. He was sent for dental xrays everytime he extracted one of his own teeth. He did this with his fingers. I asked him about this once. He told me how he did it. He explained to me how he got really nervous sometimes. When he got too nervous and couldn't stand it any more he had to do something with all that energy. Sometimes he'd start out chewing his nails, then he'd pull one off. If he wasn't stopped he'd work over a toe nail. Then when he didn't have fingernails or chewed them too much or when he had shoes on he'd grab a tooth between two fingers and start back and forth and back and forth and it eventually got loose from the vibration repeateadly and on it and once it got so loosened up he could do it he'd simply pull it out.

Horrible story I know but true.

You can make a make shift tooth brush from a twig you chew on repeatedly until it squishes out to almost form a brush of sorts and use that as a tooth brush if you have nothing else. Dental floss is more important and easier to store and also handy for more than just flossing if you keep it and wash it off. It can also be survival fishing line in a pinch among other things. Water to rinse your teeth and swish in conjuntion with a make shift brush like above works in a pinch.

Now for toothaches some Scotch, Vodka, or other alcohol rubbed on your gum or cavity is about two to three hours of relief for a lot of people. It won't always take all the pain away but has been reported to help. If a little gets swallowed in the process, well thats just the risk you take I guess.

Visine is a hemodent that by action is a vasoconstrictor to reduce bleeding in a pinch and these days believe it or not super glue can be more effective and less traumatic as well as less painful in an emergency. Its also less likely to cause risks of infection out in the wilds than the risks of using a dirty tool or causing more wounds on top of the one you are suturing. Granted super glue is not the first recommendation by most professionals but they use something very similar to it in any modern surgery that is taking place in most ORs and in most vet clinics also.

STR

 

[CitizenQ]

Very interesting stuff! I have an elevator in my kit too. The Amazon book I mentioned in my initial post to this topic is a must read if this stuff interests you. At $14.00 it's a terrific major value.

 

[sasha]

Whats an elevator for teeth???? how does it work??
STR i had a friend as a kid. That guy had a toothache. Cause it was on the weekend he had to wait. He keeped playing with his tooth from the pain. At some point he ended up pulling his tooth out. As soon as he did the pain went away. There was very little blood. He later told me that the tooth was infected very bad and the doc would have had to pull it out anyway. So it does work and it works well in a pinch.

sasha

 

[thatmguy]

You just have to watch doing that self extraction while there is infection present.

The crap it dumps into the bloodsteeam can have major adverse effects on your cardiac system.

That is where a day or 2 of antibiotics, combined with some means of pain relief, would be a better bet, but I am no doctor or dentist.

Just my humble opinion.

Q, I too do the same, and have the nice little legal stash now....

 

[rhino]

Regular maintenance is far more important than an emergency dental kit in my opinion.

And here's something that some may know, but others may not: flossing properly and regularly is absolutely the most important thing an adult can do to maintain good dental health.

I say this as someone who developed periodontal disease a couple of years ago, which is one of those gifts that keeps on giving. Had I understood the reason for flossing, known the proper technique, and actually done it daily (preferably twice daily), I would probably have avoided all the issues I have now.

If you have to choose between brushing and flossing, flossing is the more the important of the two.

I also did not understand (which is embarrassing) why flossing is so important. I thought for the first 38 years of my life that flossing was to remove food particles from between your teeth. That's a side benefit, but the real reason is to remove accumulation of bacteria from under your gumline. I knew that "plaque" was something I needed to remove from my teeth, but I didn't know that plaque was actually just a slimy coating of bacteria on your teeth, both above and below the gumline.

I may be the only one here who missed those details growing up, but now that I know, I like to share.

So . . . the number one component in anyone's emergency dental kit is . . . DENTAL FLOSS!

 

[CitizenQ]

Regular maintenance is far more important than an emergency dental kit in my opinion....I say this as someone who developed periodontal disease a couple of years ago, which is one of those gifts that keeps on giving...

What Rhino has written is absolutely true and wise. Periodontal disease -- mixed with personal indolence -- is what did me in. Periodontal disease is insidious, because it doesn't hurt. There is no pain. But it eats the bone away in your mouth. When I hurt my knee, I got that fixed right fast. When I got the flu, I took care of myself and got better fast, because I felt horrible. However, I let periodontal disease linger, because I'm lazy and because there was no pain. After you let it go too long the cost in money and physical pain (surgery) to fix it is astronomical. In fact once you suffer significant bone-loss you can never recover short of bone grafts which never restore your bone it it's original condition. You may consider it a pain in the ass to address it now, but if you don't, you don't you're in for more financial and physical pain than you can imagine.

If you have the beginnings of periodontal disease, pay attention to it now and fix it fast when you learn you have it. As Rhino says, flossing, a perio-brush, brushing, and regular professional cleanings can beat it fast. Don't wait until it's too late guys.

 

[CitizenQ]

Whats an elevator for teeth???? how does it work??

Sasha, here is a definition and some instructions that will help you understand dental elevators...

elevator (el·e·va·tor) [L. elevare to lift] an instrument for lifting tissues, removing bone fragments, or removing roots of teeth.

By gently pushing the elevator between the tooth and gum while rotating it around the tooth, the ligaments holding the tooth to the bone are weakened. Any bleeding is minor and ceases soon after the extraction. I then make prying movements to further loosen the ligaments. By placing the elevator between the canine and the adjacent incisor and then prying sideways, the tooth loosens rapidly. Deeper penetration of the elevator and further pressure then nearly complete the process. The objective is to have a very loose, wobbly tooth that can be rotated easily with one's fingers. Finally, I place the dental forceps over the tooth so that the forceps tips are below the gum line. Slow, even, upward pressure then pulls the tooth free from the socket.

BTW, this guy was doin' a deer hehehe.

Step 5: Sever the periodontal ligament, and elevate the roots
The individual roots must now be separated from their alveolar attachment. The teeth are attached to the alveolus by the periodontal ligament, so the remaining periodontal ligament must be severed (a portion of the periodontal ligament was removed when the buccal cortical bone was removed).

Insert a dental elevator into the gingival sulcus. Insert the tip or blade of the elevator between the tooth and the alveolar crest, slightly angling it toward the tooth. Establish a purchase by applying gentle pressure apically while also rotating the elevator a few degrees in a side-to-side rocking motion. From this point, rotate the elevator in a motion similar to turning a door handle (Figure 5). Hold the elevator in this rotated position for 10 to 30 seconds, creating tooth movement. Next, find another purchase point and repeat the procedure, again holding the tooth in the distracted position for 10 to 30 seconds.

Repeat this procedure several times to stretch the periodontal fibers to the point of fatigue, at which time the tooth will loosen. Then use appropriately sized dental extraction forceps to grasp the crown near the gingival margin. Gently rotate the tooth along its long axis until it can be removed from the alveolus.

This step is where most root fracture complications occur. Go slowly—taking a few extra minutes to be careful avoids many extra minutes digging out broken root tips. Evaluate each root to be sure extraction is complete.

The above is from a vet website. I think this guy was doin' a dog. Take note of the "root fracture" issue. You don't want to leave any root pieces behind as an infection may result.

And here's a picture of a dental elevator brother...

 

[STR]

As seen above a dental elevator is a tool used to go all around the gums with and down under into the root area. Used to pursuade the tendons holding the tooth from maintaining their tight grasp so the tooth becomes loose in the socket.

When an abscess forms around the root of the tooth it is basically a pocket of puss from infection that causes pressure. By this time you already have an infection going on so removing the tooth after a few days on antibiotics is most often prescribed. This pressure of the infection on the nerves cause the pain. The relief of simply relieving that pressure is usually stinky and instant relief all at the same time. Its also a very bad taste in the mouth in many cases. The infection can get into the blood stream just as easily from ignoring it and that is far more dangerous than having it removed by a professional of course.

One thing that always confuses dentists is that patients that come in with this severe pain from infections going on with teeth they didn't properly maintain is that they get blamed for the pain the patient feels. This of course is compounded by the fact that simple physics is working against pain relief during this kind of thing. Its like this. Your tooth hurts because of the severe pressure of the build up of the puss. The shot the doctor gives you that normally relieves pain, in this case only adds more pressure to the area already hyper sensitive. So of course the dentist is cussed for causing the patient this pain to try to numb the area so he/she can remove the infected tooth. Its a no win situation for both usually.

The best remedy is to simply take care of your teeth. Brush daily, more than once preferred and floss at least every couple days but idealy of course daily is even better. Bottom line is do this and you'll reduce the chances of having this occur in your life by a tremedous %.

STR

 

[m_calingo]

As said earlier by Rhino, brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits will go a long way to preventing any issue 99 percent of us will ever have to deal with in the boonies re: dental emergencies.

Tom Hanks' character in the movie Castaway did have a tootache prior to his departure on the ill-fated trip. However, if his character did see the dentist on a regular basis, at least twice a year, that toothache probably wouldn't have been an issue.

Of course, I'm not saying that in the wild one isn't likely to bite into a pebble or bone and break a tooth, but all those other issues are less likely to occur with regular visits to the dentist. In that sense, that should be considered part of the plan for being prepared.

 

[CitizenQ]

...Tom Hanks' character in the movie Castaway did have a tootache prior to his departure on the ill-fated trip...

When I saw Castaway again several days ago I was thing about the fact that he went on the trip without having his tooth taken care of. I was thinking of the saying: Procrastination is opportunity's assassin.