When you go on multi-day hiking trips, you're likely to be camping out in the wild, far away from your good old bathroom. This can make it tough to stay on top of your oral health, so you need to take the steps listed below to ensure that your mouth stays healthy when you're out enjoying the best that nature can offer.
1. Bring a Full-Size Toothbrush
If you're going to be hiking for a few days at a time, weight is always going to be an issue. Some hikers will try to make every ounce count by bringing a travel-size toothbrush, but these should be avoided. The issue with travel-size toothbrushes is that they are usually quite short. This means that it can be very hard to get to the back teeth.
2. Spit into Tissue Paper Instead of Swallowing
One of the issues that people tend to run into while camping is that they don't have anywhere to spit their toothpaste. You don't want to spray it into a stream or lake, and it looks unsightly when spat on the ground—not exactly the best way to give back to nature. This often leads people to swallow, but swallowing toothpaste can cause digestive problems. The best thing to do is carry a zip-lock bag with some tissue paper inside. You can spit directly into the bag and the tissue paper will soak up most of the liquid. It isn't the nicest step, but it works well enough.
3. Chew Gum After Eating
When you're hiking all day, you're naturally going to need to be eating a lot. Unfortunately, a lot of food favoured during long-distance hikes isn't great for your teeth. Candy and protein bars often contain lots of sugar, jerky is tough to chew, and dried fruit can stick in your teeth. With this in mind, carry some sugar-free chewing gum to use after each snack. It will stimulate saliva production to help clean your teeth and dislodge anything stuck between them.
4. Bring Floss
You might think that floss is the kind of oral healthcare luxury that might as well be left at home, but floss is just as easy to use on the trail as it is at home. Just be sure not to leave any loose strands around your camp—the minty fragrance can attract unwanted critters. As an added plus, floss can be used to make repairs to jackets, tents, and other such items if you're in a pinch.
Make an appointment at a clinic like Care Dental to ask the dentist for more suggestions on protecting your teeth while camping.
Share30 November 2016
Hi! My name is Sarah, and as a busy professional, I understand the importance of making the most of my time. That includes everything from having productive working lunches to making the most of my dental checkups. I have created this blog to help you maximise your dental checkups. In these posts, you can learn how to prepare for your checkup, which questions to ask during your checkup and more. I am also going to have posts explaining why checkups are critical to your dental health as well as the health of your entire body. Happy reading, and thanks for visiting my blog!
