Helping your Patients Keeping a Good Oral Hygiene Routine While Camping
For you and your patients, summertime probably means outside activities, road trips and, most often, camping! Maintaining dental hygiene while camping is comforting and good for your overall health. If you are concerned about how to ensure your family doesn’t neglect their oral hygiene during your trip, here are a few things you can do.
We suggest you have a family discussions prior to your departure to let your children know how important oral hygiene is and that damage can be done if they don’t keep up their good “at-home” habits. It is important that you make time each day to brush. You don’t necessarily have to do it as a family by standing around in a circle together, but reminding everyone to take the time to brush may be necessary. Camping can consist of plenty of activities and you might be tired at the end of the day, but don't let this be an excuse to avoid what only takes a few minutes.
Always have bottled water available, you never know if you will end up somewhere without a clean water supply. You'll have to make sure that you have enough for brushing and rinsing. As animals can become sick by ingesting toothpaste, encourage your children to use the "spray technique" to spit their toothpaste. You can also have a cup, plastic bottle or bag to spit in if you do not have access to a sink or other receptacle.
Bears and other wildlife are attracted to mint so we suggest that you should include a few plastic sealable bags in your supplies. This way, your toothpaste will be well sealed. Also keep it with your food supplies.
If you forgot your toothpaste, you can practice what is called “dry brushing”. Just brush normally your teeth, gums, and tongue a few times with your toothbrush as if you had toothpaste on it.
Prior to your departure, you should also have packed sugar free gum. They can be a substitute to brushing. However, this should not be a habit! Although, it is a good alternative to use if you feel the need to clean your teeth in the day. You can encourage the entire family to chew a piece in between morning and evening brushings to help cut down the damages of snacking and stimulates salivation during the day.
To make sure that you don't forget anything for your oral hygiene routine during you next camping trip, here is a list of the basics you should pack:
- A Curaprox CS 5460 toothbrush for each adult and a CURAKid for your child. They are the softest toothbrushes in the world!
- An environment-friendly toothpaste like our X-PUR Remin. Free of harsh foaming agents such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or triclosan, X-PUR Remin also does not contain microbeads which are bad for the environment.
- The right size of CPS Prime interdental brushes from Curaprox. It is always important to clean the interdental spaces, even more so when you are away from home with sometimes limited access to toothpaste. They will disturb the biofilm in between your teeth and allow you to have a better oral hygiene. Curaprox even has a pocket set to better carry your interdental brushes on vacation.
- X-PUR 100 % Xylitol gums which are 100 % natural sugar free gums without GMO and gluten. They also stimulate saliva so you won't be left with dryness of the mouth during the day.
- If you feel like having the best oral hygiene possible in camp, you can also pack a rinse without alcohol in small containers such as our X-PUR Opti-Rinse. Again, the "spray technique" is recommended if you are planning to bring a rinse.
Taking care of your oral health while camping isn't too difficult to manage. Sometimes, what is the hardest is taking the time to do it and having to pause the fun. Games or challenges can be a good way to encourage your kids to brush...but do not stress out if you miss it one time! Have fun!