Emergency Dental First Aid

Another Piece of Gear for Your Disaster Preparedness Kit

Aside from the canned vegetable and fruit additions mentioned in our previous blog, there was only one other piece of gear that we thought we should add to our Disaster Preparedness gear to assist in a situation that lasted longer than 2 weeks; an Emergency Dental Kit (EDK).
 
According to the American Dental Association, there are more than 2.1 million visits to the emergency room for dental related cases each year. Of these 80% (1.65 million) don’t actually require emergency treatment and could probably be diverted to the dental office on a semi-urgent basis (“Majority of Dental-Related Emergency Department Visits Lack Urgency and Can Be Diverted to Dental Offices”).

But accidents do happen and dental issues need to be taken care of expeditiously to prevent problems like:
 

• Toothaches
• Cold sores and/or lesions in your mouth
• Additional damage to your teeth if they are shipped or broken
• Infections
  • Such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
    • A staph infection that is difficult to treat because of resistance to antibiotics
• Respiratory problems like pneumonia
• Ulcers
• Brain abscesses

 
Because of this you need to include dental health in your emergency preparedness plans. Especially since, in a disaster you may not be able to get to a dentist, or a dentist may not be available – and no one wants to be like Tom Hanks in the movie “Castaway”. So, for emergencies involving your teeth, you should have the essentials for treating minor dental pain and injuries in your Disaster Preparedness kit.
 
When looking for, or making, an EDK you should look for a kit that includes the following items:

• Toothache Drops
• Dental Wax
• Temporary Filling Compound
• Temporary Cement
• Denture Repair Material
• Gloves
• Cotton
• Gauze
• Sanitizing Wipes
• Dental Floss
• Tweezers
• Step-by-step instructions on how to treat common dental emergencies using the kit

Rather than build a kit on our own we searched the internet and found Dr. Stahl's Emergency Dental Kit. It contains the almost all of the items we were looking for to include:

• Water Resistant Case
• Toothache Drops (1)
  • Eugenol (i.e. clove oil)
• Dental Wax (2)
  • Natural/synthetic waxes and resins
• Temporary Filling Compound (2)
  • Calcium/Barium Sulphate, Dimethoxytetraethylene Glycol, Zinc Oxide, Ethylmethacrylate Polymer, Acesulfame-K
• Temporary Cement (2)
  • Zone Zinc Oxide, Non-Eugenol Temporary Dental Cement
• Denture Repair Material (2)
  • Liquid & Powder : Methyl Methacryllate
• Cotton (4)
• Gauze (1)
• Tweezers (1)
• Small Mixing Dish (2)
• Mixing Spatula
• Wood Toothpicks (2)
• Illustrated Instruction Manual

 
In our opinion the Dr. Stahl Dental Kit has all the essentials for temporarily treating minor dental pain and injuries. Adding this EDK to the rest of our First Aid Supplies ensures that we’re prepared for any small dental issues during a short duration disaster. The kit even comes with an order form that you can use to purchase refills if you use an item or just want additional supplies.
 
It's imperative to take care of your teeth – even in a disaster. Since you never know when a dental emergency will come up and you won't be able to get to a dentist quickly, you should have an EDK on hand. You can buy the Dr. Stahl EDK at CampingSurvival.com.

If you want more details on EDKs, here are a couple of good articles to read:

          How to Build a Dental Emergency Kit

          How to Make a First Aid Kit for Dental Emergencies