| Cycle Touring Health & Medical Issues |
| Cycle Touring Health | Dental Health |
Tooth Damage
What do you do if you have a crash while cycling
in a Third-World country and do serious damage
to your teeth?
Did the tooth fall out?
Lost Filling or Broken Tooth
Crown/Cap Fell Out: This happened to Rich in
South Africa while eating peanut brittle!
Teeth Maintenance
Setting out on a cycle tour is the perfect
opportunity to shed those bad habits and adopt
good ones.
Here are a few of the things we do to keep
ourselves out of the chair of a Third-World dentist.
Before leaving San Diego we had our teeth
checked for free (we are really frugal!) at the
South Bay School for Dental Hygienists. The
checkup and cleaning took more than four hours,
was unbelievably thorough and was done by a
hygienist in training. After the cleaning we had the
cleanest teeth in San Diego.
Regular dental checkups are far less expensive in
the developing world and we have them done
once a year while on the road. We have had
regular checkups in Mexico, South Africa, and
Thailand.
What do you do if you have a crash while cycling
in a Third-World country and do serious damage
to your teeth?
Did the tooth fall out?
- Handle it by the crown only (don't touch the
root!). If it is dirty, clean it with your own
spit. Put it back in its socket and get to a
dentist right away. - If you are unable to place the tooth back in
its socket, wrap it in plastic and get to a
dentist.
Lost Filling or Broken Tooth
- Clean the remaining tooth with sterile swabs.
- Use oil of clove or other toothache drops to
numb the nerve - Use temporary filling material as directed on
the box - Get to a dentist.
Crown/Cap Fell Out: This happened to Rich in
South Africa while eating peanut brittle!
- Put the crown back in place so that the
surrounding teeth do not begin to crowd the
gap. - Get to a dentist.
Teeth Maintenance
Setting out on a cycle tour is the perfect
opportunity to shed those bad habits and adopt
good ones.
Here are a few of the things we do to keep
ourselves out of the chair of a Third-World dentist.
- Brush morning, noon and night. We keep
our toiletry bags in our front panniers where
we can get our toothbrushes and toothpaste
easily. Even while on the road we brush
after lunch (yes, we are freaks!) - Amanda flosses every night
- Rich brushes with hydrogen peroxide in the
evenings. - Green Tea is an antioxidant that kills
bacteria and is very good for your teeth.
Every morning we brew up green tea in our
stainless steel water bottles
Before leaving San Diego we had our teeth
checked for free (we are really frugal!) at the
South Bay School for Dental Hygienists. The
checkup and cleaning took more than four hours,
was unbelievably thorough and was done by a
hygienist in training. After the cleaning we had the
cleanest teeth in San Diego.
Regular dental checkups are far less expensive in
the developing world and we have them done
once a year while on the road. We have had
regular checkups in Mexico, South Africa, and
Thailand.
| Amanda Brushing Her Teeth After a Roadside Lunch in Southern Cambodia |
| The best resource for Dental Care is free! The digital (.pdf) version of the book "Where There Is No Dentist" Published by a non-profit foundation so they can tell you all the gory details without risk of liability |
Cycle Touring Health & Safety > Dental Health
