Do Ships Have Dentists?

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Hubby's dentist told him that he would love to be a cruise ship dentist when he retires. Hubby and I have been on over forty cruises, but honestly can say we do not know if any cruise lines have an on board dentist in their medical center along with the doctor.

 

It might make sense especially on big ships, or ships that have extra long voyages. That said, I really don't know if there are dentists on board for the crew and passengers.

 

Does anybody know? Has anybody ever had a dental emergency on board that a dentist could have helped? If so, what did you do if there was no dentist?

[chengkp75]

Never seen one. If a dental emergency happens, the medical staff can apply temporary filling material, until the passenger can be sent to a dentist ashore.

[Keith1010]

Holland America used to have Dentists but no more and I am not aware of any that have a dentist.

 

Keith

[paul929207]

Other than as passengers, I have never seen a dentist on a cruise ship.

[KirkNC]

Other than as passengers, I have never seen a dentist on a cruise ship.

 

Nor have I, I have never even heard that HAL used to have them. That would have been a cake job:p

[sail7seas]

It is true HAL used to have Dentists aboard primarily for crew but they treated guests who had emergencies. The dental office space is now converted to cabin space thus providing two more cabins....... the one that housed the dental office and the one that housed the dentist.

 

[OCruisers]

:o Wish they did ... but they don't.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

The reason I posted this question, one of Hubby's molars fell in half the other day. Luckily we have had the same dentist for decades so he took Hubby right away. What looked like a simple fix turned out to be a two hour-long fix as the situation was much wrse than it first seemed. During that ordeal, the dentist told my husband he'd love to be a cruise ship dentist.

 

Anyway, Hubby and I are both thankful this did not happen on a cruise ship. We have a seven-night cruise on Allure starting this Sunday. Golly, what if his tooth had broken on the ship? Well, anyway, now we know our dentist will not realize his dream of being a cruise ship dentist.

[P&O SUE]

I have only been on P&O cruises so far and I looked on their "FAQ" about this as I had had trouble with a tooth before I went on a cruise last year - and they don't either. As you say it would be awful to have a broken tooth on a cruise...

[Donder1]

Funny story, I broke a tooth on a catamaran excursion to St. John. This was at the beginning of a seven day cruise. I couldn't chew on that side and it really bothered me for the entire cruise. No dentist aboard. When I got home, my dentist saw me the next day. Guess what? He was vacationing on St. John that same week:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- HAL ships used to have dentists on them. That was several years ago.

Fortunately we never had to use them.

Now we just take our own supplies for emergencies -- like one of DH's many crowns coming off.

When crew and passengers have emergencies that can only be handled by a dentist, the ship does have a list of dentists for most ports. It is up to you to get yourself there and back and pay for whatever you need to have done.

[Sipsey]

My uncle was a dentist. After he "retired" and sold his practice, he worked part time for the prison system.

 

So, if not on a cruise ship, maybe your dentist could find work on the side doing that, albeit in not quite as pleasant surroundings!

[xxoocruiser]

Can confirm for certain that HAL ceased having dentist on board for well over 14 years now. Reason being that a chunk of my tooth chipped off more than 14 years ago on a HAL Med Cruise. Though there was not an On-Board Staff Dentist there was a passenger on board that was and kindly contacted me. After having accessed that I was not in pain and the filling that was in that tooth was still in tack he told me to get some gum and chew all the flavoring out of it . Than place the gum over the sharp edges, not to chew on that side and replace the gum as needed. If I was in pain and the nerves exposed he told me I would have had to get off in the next port and an go to a dentist. That the cruise ship has contact information for dentists in each port that serviced the crew.

[YubaSutter]

Nor have I, I have never even heard that HAL used to have them. That would have been a cake job:p

 

Sure would. The HAL passengers could leave their teeth with the dentist and pick them up a few days later.

[sail7seas]

Sure would. The HAL passengers could leave their teeth with the dentist and pick them up a few days later.

 

Nor have I, I have never even heard that HAL used to have them. That would have been a cake job:p

 

 

Dentists working on HAL ships did similar to what doctors now do. Most are only on for two or three weeks and then rotate off and go back to the 'usual jobs' be it private practice or whatever.

 

The dentists were permitted to bring their wives and had time off. Their office hours were not overly burdensome. :)

 

[MULDOAN]

If you have false teeth carry a dental repair kit from the chemist and you can also get other repair kits re fillings and caps .

[OCruisers]

We'd made friends with a fellow pax who was a retired oral surgeon.

DH had some sort of wire connecting a bridge in the back of his mouth bend and become loose. This man was nice enough to reattach it with some tweezers as a temporary fix until we could get home.

 

The interesting thing on this: The oral surgeon could not use the ship's facilities which would have made it easier because if anything happened the ship could have been liable.

 

LuLu

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[sail7seas]

We'd made friends with a fellow pax who was a retired oral surgeon.

DH had some sort of wire connecting a bridge in the back of his mouth bend and become loose. This man was nice enough to reattach it with some tweezers as a temporary fix until we could get home.

 

The interesting thing on this: The oral surgeon could not use the ship's facilities which would have made it easier because if anything happened the ship could have been liable.

 

LuLu

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Lucky for your DH you had met that oral surgeon and he kindly assisted him.

 

What ship were you on that had dental facilities .... though your friend was not permitted to use them?

 

[OCruisers]

Lucky for your DH you had met that oral surgeon and he kindly assisted him.

 

What ship were you on that had dental facilities .... though your friend was not permitted to use them?

 

 

Sail, the ship did NOT have a dental facility ... but using some of the instruments the ship's doctor had and doing it in proper light would have been helpful. Still, all of us understood the reason.

 

Yes, we were lucky to have met this very nice man and his wife ... still keep up with them via email.

 

LuLu

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[smeyer418]

We'd made friends with a fellow pax who was a retired oral surgeon.

DH had some sort of wire connecting a bridge in the back of his mouth bend and become loose. This man was nice enough to reattach it with some tweezers as a temporary fix until we could get home.

 

The interesting thing on this: The oral surgeon could not use the ship's facilities which would have made it easier because if anything happened the ship could have been liable.

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

 

its not true. The ship isn't liable if its own doctor did something wrong. why it would be liable if the volunteer independent contractor did? I don't doubt that the ship refused just the reason isn't true. Ships are not liable if their ships doctors malpractice. Courts have held that the doctors are independent contractor and the cruise lines have no liability for what they do. I don't agree with the decisions, since the cruise lines "hire" them and should be accountable for that decision if they retain incompetents, IMO.

[ginnyks]

A few years ago I had the misfortune of breaking about half of my front tooth off in the MDR the first night of a 10 night cruise on a HAL's Maasdam. Fortunately I was in no pain, but I was concerned about my appearance as I tend to smile a lot. When I looked in my trusted train case I had found a few sticks of dental wax that we took with us when our children had orthodontics. I was able to temporarily create a reasonable facsimile of the remainder of front tooth for when I was in public areas. I did not sleep in it and chewed on the other side when I ate, but it did the trick until I got home! I had to reshape it fairly often, but... I have since replaced the dental wax, and continue to carry it around on each cruise.

Hopefully if this ever happens again, there will be a dentist on board. I would still be leary about going to a dentist at a port on a Caribbean cruise although I am certain that many are just as qualified as those at home. My luck....

[smeyer418]

in reality most-if not all- medical doctors have had some exposure to emergency dental care. the cruise lines generally have the names of dentists at ports that speak English and have treated emergency cases(employees and passengers) if needed.....