Do you have a dental kit for your bug-out bag? Ive seen a lot of
great bug-out bags loaded up with all manner of tacti-cool gear,
tiny first aid kits stuffed into Altoid tins, and ultralight
camping supplies. Thats wonderful and all, but wheres the dental
kit?
For new preppers, a bug-out bag (BOB) holds the supplies you
need to evacuate from your primary location to your (presumably
safe) secondary location. Your bag is intended to get you from
Point A to Point B.
Your Bug Out Bag Needs a Dental Kit
Since you arent living long-term out of your BOB, you may not
think that dental supplies are as important as other supplies, like
a good knife or paracord. After all, whatre a few days without
brushing your teeth going to hurt, right?
Mouth pain is no joke. Imagine you ended up with some food stuck
between your teeth. I find that wildly irritating and have to get
it out. Otherwise, the gum swells, becomes tender, and sometimes
bleeds. Food can stay stuck there, rotting, causing bacteria to
breed like rabbits. Next thing you know, you have an infection.
If you think mouth pain is miserable now, imagine it post-SHTF,
with no access to a local pharmacy and no local dentist. Why deal
with that, when simple brushing and flossing can dislodge that bit
of beef jerky from your teeth?
Heres another example for you. You are bugging out, and while
eating, a cap breaks off or a filling comes out. If you have the
right supplies, you can fix that and get on with your bug out.
Hopefully, there is a dentist where you are going. And hopefully,
that dentists office and still has power. But, imagine having to
finish your bug out with an open cavity in your mouth.
You could fall and end up with a wound in your mouth, lose a
tooth, or a half-dozen other things that are prevented by regular,
daily dental hygiene. If this is going to be a long-term bug out,
daily hygiene becomes even more important to prevent cavities, gum
disease, and infections.
Dollar Store Dental Preps
Everyone gets strapped for cash once in a while. Some of us
pinch pennies more often than others. While wholesale clubs and
buying in bulk may give you the best deal for your dollar, not
everyone has the cash up front to pay for a 5-pack of family-sized
toothpaste. Never mind that the family-size toothpaste is way too
big for a bug out bag anyway.
While I have dental kits for our familys emergency bags already,
I decided to try a dollar store prepping experiment.
- First, I would raid my local dollar and discount
stores for dental hygiene supplies.
- ...