Dental Care at Sea

[mobilemac]

I read a CC article on medical care and it got me thinking about dental care. I know O has medical staff on board but how about dental? We're on next April's HK - Athens trip and next Nov's TA from BCN to Miami. I'm not expecting a problem but things happen (fillings fall out, crowns come loose, etc) which could be an uncomfortable problem if you're not in port for the next couple of days. Thoughts or experiences? Thanks.

[meow!]

Unfortunately, there is no dental care on cruise ships as a general rule. You have to pre-schedule dental emergency treatment in ports from the ship. After all, with the ship rolling, dentists may have trouble standing and you won't want them working in your mouth with a knife!

[ChatKat in Ca.]

My friend is an ER Doctor here in the states. He works when he's off a few times a year on cruise ships and I posed that question to him. They have the ability to do temporary repair until you get to the next port. We even travelled once with a retired dentist and he said on some of the larger ships they make sure that there is a dentist on board - he'd gone on several cruises where he was given passage to make sure that the ship had a denist on board.

[ricktalcott]

Hi Mobilemac -

 

We were on the same cruise (pictures at http://ricktalcott.smugmug.com/gallery/1501519#73330750 )

and Nancy lost a crown. We waited one port and then went to the Maritime Association Dentist in Singapore. It was quite easy, and the ship was quite helpful.

 

When you stop to think about it, there are all those shipboard employees traveling for months at a time, and there has to be a system for them to get dental and medical treatment since it is a statistical certainty that normal life goes on no matter where your job is.

 

Rick

 

PS: Enjoy the trip. It was the single best trip I've ever taken -- land or water.

 

PPS: If you have extra time, pay for the flight deviation and fly back from Rome. That way you can detour yourself to Sicily and see the best Greek temples. It seemed like a natural progression after Egypt.

[mobilemac]

ricktalcott, your point about the employees needing dental care makes a lot of sense. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Thanks to all for your responses. I hope this is simply one of those questions that never plays out!

[drwong]

Another good oral hygiene tip from another board: Keep your toothbrush inside the medicine cabinet or inside a closed container when you're not using it - the forced air used in the toilets creates a six-foot spray radius!!!