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Posts for: February, 2016
Vacationing abroad can be the trip of a lifetime — or a nightmare if you have a medical or dental emergency while traveling. Dental care in many locations around the world can be limited, expensive or even dangerous.
Here are 3 important things you should to do to prepare for a possible dental emergency during that dream vacation in a foreign country.
Have a complete checkup, cleaning and necessary dental work before you leave. Whoever said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” must have been a traveler. Better to take care of problems beforehand than have them erupt into an emergency far from home. Be sure especially to have decayed or cracked teeth repaired, as well as any planned dental work like root canal treatments before you go. This is especially important if you’re flying — high altitudes can increase pressure and pain for many dental problems.
Research your destination’s available dental and medical care ahead of time. Standards and practices in other countries can differ from those in the United States, sometimes drastically. Knowing what’s available and what’s expected in terms of service and price will help immensely if you do encounter a health emergency while traveling. A good starting place is A Traveler’s Guide to Safe Dental Care, available at www.osap.org.
Know who to contact if you have a dental emergency. While it may be frightening having a dental issue in a strange place, you’re not alone — there are most likely a number of fellow Americans in your location who can help. Have contact information ready for people you know or military personnel living in your locale, as well as contacts to the American Embassy in that country. And if you’re staying in a hotel, be sure to make friends with the local concierge!
It’s always unsettling to have a dental emergency, but especially so when you’re far from home. Doing a little preparation for the possibility will help lessen the stress if it happens and get you the help you need.
If you would like more information on preparing for dental emergencies while traveling, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Traveling Abroad? Tips for Dealing with Dental Emergencies.”
A woman as gorgeous and funny as Sofia Vergara surely planned to be a model and actress from the get-go, right? Wrong! Sofia’s first career choice actually was to be… a dentist! That’s right, the sexy star of TV’s Modern Family actually was only two semesters shy of finishing a dental degree in her native Columbia when she traded dental school for the small screen. Still, dental health remains a top priority for the actress and her son, Manolo.
“I’m obsessed,” she recently told People magazine. “My son thinks I’m crazy because I make him do a cleaning every three months. I try to bribe the dentist to make him to do it sooner!”
That’s what we call a healthy obsession (teeth-cleaning, not bribery). And while coming in for a professional cleaning every three months may not be necessary for everyone, some people — especially those who are particularly susceptible to gum disease — may benefit from professional cleanings on a three-month schedule. In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to having professional teeth cleanings — but everyone needs this beneficial procedure on a regular basis.
Even if you are meticulous about your daily oral hygiene routine at home, there are plenty of reasons for regular checkups. They include:
- Dental exam. Oral health problems such as tooth decay and gum disease are much easier — and less expensive — to treat in the earliest stages. You may not have symptoms of either disease early on, but we can spot the warning signs and take appropriate preventive or restorative measures.
- Oral cancer screening. Oral cancer is not just a concern of the middle aged and elderly — young adults can be affected as well (even those who do not smoke). The survival rate for this deadly disease goes up tremendously if it is detected quickly, and an oral cancer screening is part of every routine dental visit.
- Professional teeth cleaning. Calcified (hardened) dental plaque (tartar or calculus) can build up near the gum line over time — even if you brush and floss every day. These deposits can irritate your gums and create favorable conditions for tooth decay. You can’t remove tartar by flossing or brushing, but we can clear it away — and leave you with a bright, fresh-feeling smile!
So take a tip from Sofia Vergara, and don’t skimp on professional cleanings and checkups. If you want to know how often you should come in for routine dental checkups, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more in the Dear Doctor articles “Dental Hygiene Visit” and “Dental Cleanings Using Ultrasonic Scalers.”