Ask the Warrior Dentist: Take a Trip to the Dentist Before Traveling By Dr. Susan Wells At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

When planning a trip – especially a long awaited vacation, a trip to a distant city, or even an overseas journey – there are many things to consider and prepare. We have to pack the right clothes, confirm and reconfirm tickets or map out our car travel, book hotel reservations, and make sure that someone staying home can look after the pets, the mail, and other details.

One of the few things we usually do not think about during this planning phase is dentistry, because going to the dentist is about the last concept on anyone’s mind if they are getting ready for travel. But experienced travelers and travel planning experts often cite the frequently overlooked dental appointment as the reason that some great trips wind up as a stressful disaster. That is because it is always possible to leave home for a big trip without knowing that a dental emergency is waiting to happen, unless a check-up at the dentist’s office is part of your pre-travel planning routine.

Anybody who has ever encountered a dental problem – whether it was a sore or loose filling, infected gums, or a high priority root canal procedure – knows that nothing can ruin a trip faster than unexpected dental troubles. You can wind up in a strange place where you don’t know anyone – much less a good dentist – and you might have to cancel all of your travel plans just to focus on finding a dentist, figuring out how to convince the dentist to see you on short notice, and then paying for the whole mess. Nine times out of ten the best dentists will be booked solid for months into the future, so you will most likely have to settle for any dentist willing to see you. If you are in out in the countryside, on a camping trip, or in a rural town staying in your favorite bed and breakfast getaway it may be virtually impossible to locate a qualified dentist – especially if it all happens during a national holiday or prime vacation weekend.

If you need fast dental help while in a foreign country, then you may find that your language skills are not good enough to adequately communicate the symptoms. The country you’re in may not have the level of modern dental care to which you are accustomed, and your insurance policies may not cover procedures performed by dentists in that particular region of the world. You may not have access to the best medicines, and you could be surprised to learn that many countries do not even have basic medical infrastructure. In some popular tourist destinations, for example, there are no dentists who have the type of equipment and training that many Americans take for granted in their home country.

The bottom line is that before embarking on any trip it is important to check in with your own dentist. Get a basic check-up and let the dentist know that you will be away, so that he or she can check for any looming problems that might crop up later while you’re already heading down the road. Not only will you have greater peace of mind in preparation for your travels, but you’ll have a healthier and happier smile to greet people along the way.

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