I’ve had more dental work done over the years than I’d like to admit. Fillings, crowns, two root canals … it’s a real mess in there at times. 😉 If things ever go sideways for good, dental problems are one of the few concerns I know I can’t fix after the fact. I can stock food, water, and meds for years, but I can’t grow a new tooth and it’s one known/likely problem I can’t really fix on my own.
So my actual plan, if I’m honest, is to hope there’s a friendly dentist somewhere nearby who I can barter with or befriend. That’s not much of a plan, but it might be the most realistic one most of us have when SHTF.
The Easy Part
Hygiene supplies are simple to prep for, and most preppers already have this covered. Things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, and mouthwash store for a long time and take up almost no space. Baking soda works as a toothpaste substitute in a pinch, and it’s cheap enough to store in bulk for this and other purposes.
Some people swear by more old-school methods too. Chewing sticks from black walnut or sassafras, tea tree oil as an antibacterial rinse for bleeding gums, even miswak twigs, which some cultures have used as toothbrushes for centuries with no paste needed. Wood ash or charcoal paste may be of help, though most people agree that it’s too abrasive for daily use and better saved for an occasional deep clean.
Typically, however, hygiene isn’t the problem. The real problem shows up when something actually breaks in your mouth because there’s a lot that can go wrong. What then?
Where It Falls Apart
Pain management, at least short term, has decent options. Clove oil gets mentioned constantly as a home remedy for tooth pain, and it’s easy to find and store. Benzocaine products like HurriCaine spray, plus over-the-counter stuff like Orajel, can numb things enough to function for a while. Some people store actual oral antibiotics, like amoxicillin-clavulanate and clindamycin specifically, which can knock down a dental infection before it turns into something worse.
There are even temporary repair kits you can buy, like Dentemp or Temparin Max, meant for a lost filling or a cracked cap. Some mentioned InstaMorph, a moldable plastic, as a possible stopgap but that’s not something I would recommend because I wouldn’t want it in my mouth or, worse, to swallow it.
So the supplies exist. What’s missing is the skill to use them for anything beyond a stopgap.
Some preppers recommend a full extraction kit, which I also own: forceps in different sizes, dental elevators, probes, picks, scalers, mirrors. It’s impressive gear, but I can’t claim real hands-on experience pulling a tooth, and I suspect I would probably do more harm than good if I ever tried it.
Clearly, owning the tools and knowing how to use them properly are two different things, and that difference is where this whole situation gets scary because without real anesthetic and proper diagnosis, you’re likely risking additional problems … problems that only a dentist can rightly diagnose and deal with.
Real dental training, the kind that would let you handle an actual extraction or repair correctly, just isn’t something most of us are going to pick up casually or from a YouTube video.
Prevention
If there’s one point every prepper agrees on, it’s to get your dental work done now, while you still have access to a dentist. Yeah, it’s not exciting advice, but it’s the one thing that actually reduces your known risk instead of just treating symptoms after the fact.
Fix the cavities. Get the crown you’ve been putting off. Handle the root canal now instead of hoping clove oil and antibiotics will carry you through it for years to come. Every problem you solve today is one less problem you’re trying to solve with a headlamp, a pair of pliers, and a bottle of rum.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend the book, Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson, and its companion, Where There Is No Doctor. Both can be found as free PDFs, I believe. Regardless, both are worth having in some format somewhere even if you never need them, though paperback is preferred.
Concluding Thoughts
I know my own dental history well enough to know this is a real weak spot in my preps. I’ve got the hygiene basics covered, some pain relief on hand, and a couple of reference books saved. What I don’t have is any real skill to pull a tooth or fix a break, and I’m not sure this will ever truly change.
So my plan stays the same as it’s always been. Take care of what I can control now, and hope that if things ever get bad enough, there’s someone nearby with real training who’s willing to help.
Have you actually thought through what you’d do for a serious dental problem, or is this one of those categories you’ve been putting off too?
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