Handling dental emergencies while traveling

September 27, 2017

Nobody plans to break a tooth or get a toothache, but it happens. Dealing with a dental emergency on an overseas trip means handling both the immediate discomfort and the logistics of finding quality dental care in another country.

Unless you already have dental issues, there’s no reason to make dental preparation the focus of your trip planning. But knowing ahead of time what to do if the unexpected happens can remove one thing from your list of things to fret about as you prepare for your trip.

Open wide ahead of time

Having a dental checkup before you go makes sense just to make sure anything that might go wrong while you are gone is taken care of before you leave. But immediately before an international trip is not the time to have a root canal or major oral surgery. Plan these procedures well ahead of time to avoid discomfort in a pressurized airplane cabin, and to make sure there is no risk of infection.

How SafeTrip Travel Protection can help

If you have a travel dental emergency, call our 24-hour Emergency Response Center at the number on your SafeTrip travel ID card. Your personal emergency assistance coordinator will help:

• Point you to a pre-screened dentist or dental clinic in the area where you are traveling to help you get quality care.
• Assist you with language translation.
• Facilitate payment of up to $500 in charges for dental services

It’s a great benefit at no extra cost!