Vacation Travel Tips for Healthy Teeth

With summer upon us, another vacation season has arrived at last. For many couples and families, that means time spent camping, boating, and traveling to see new places or visit family and friends. Unfortunately, summer can also become a time of dental neglect as adults and children alike become so caught up in their various adventures that they forget to keep up with their oral hygiene regimens. Here are some handy vacation travel tips that can help you to avoid that common pitfall and maintain dental health no matter where you may find yourself this summer.

Stick to Your Schedule

Obviously, you plan to have nothing but fun during your trip. The problem is that all that fun can distract you from your health care regimen. After all, who really wants to take time away from an adventure to do something as dull as brushing or flossing teeth? You have to put such thoughts aside and establish and maintain a schedule for dental hygiene while you’re away on vacation. One of the easiest ways to accomplish that is to simply set your alarm to remind you to brush at specific times of the day – such as the morning and late evening.

That schedule will allow you to enjoy the daylight hours without breaking for oral hygiene, while still ensuring that your twice-daily routine is maintained. And if you do the same thing for your flossing schedule, there’s no reason that your oral health should suffer during your vacation.

Have a Dental Travel Pack

It might sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised by the number of people who simply forget to bring dental supplies along with them on a camping trip or other vacation getaway. To avoid that, create a travel pack with all of the dental necessities you will need. You should include:

• Toothpaste and mouthwash. You can find travel-size tubes of toothpaste and bottles of mouthwash in many big box stores and most drugstores. Keep these items in plastic bags to avoid the mess that can occur due to spills.
• This can come in handy if you’re eating out on the lake, or are in other situations where you want to refresh your breath. And since gum stimulates saliva production – an important process for keeping plaque at bay, you get oral health benefits as well.
• Don’t skip the flossing during your trip. Pack a couple of packages of floss in your kit and use it daily.
• Paraffin wax, oral pain medication, and other products that you may need for a tooth emergency.
• Your toothbrush. You should also purchase a plastic holder for each brush in your kit. That will help to keep the brush sanitary and free of lint, hair, or other items that might get caught in the bristles.

At Ebenezer Dental, we enjoy our vacation time, and understand how challenging it can be to maintain clean and healthy teeth and gums any time you’re away from home. With these tips and a commitment to following through on your oral hygiene plan, however, your teeth will continue to look and feel their best. To find out more about how the best dentist in midtown Manhattan can help you plan for your vacation dental needs, contact us today.