The cost of health, dental, and vision insurance these days is astronomical - even worse depending on how many family members you might have. If you're cutting corners, you may decide to forgo both dental and vision insurance like so many others.... or maybe you're just working on preparing your dental emergency kit in case of zombie invasion. Whatever the reason, the one thing you don't want to neglect is your teeth - even though dentures are quite common these days, you only have one set of real teeth as an adult!
The most important thing is your day to day overall tooth health. You absolutely MUST keep up with the proper dental hygiene. A good quality toothbrush that is replaced every 2-3 months (and after you are sick!) is very important. Brushing your teeth with a quality paste at minimum twice a day must be done. If you are eating anything extra sugary, or with seeds, you should floss your teeth and brush after each consumption.
If funds are tight, you can purchase those toothbrushes and the toothpaste at any dollar store, but try not to purchase the multipacks that come 5-6 toothbrushes in a package for your family's use, even if it's tempting. They are a lower quality, and really don't brush very well - or last very long!
A mouth wash twice a day can also help with your gum health, something many folks ignore until it's too late. Instead of purchasing color ridden commercial mouthwashes, you can also use hydrogen peroxide mixed with water. (Don't swallow!) It's cheaper, it stores well in dark, cool places, and it has multiple uses - from a stain remover to wound care.
Floss is really just floss, and you can purchase it cheaply just about anywhere. Thanks to coupons in the Sunday paper, you can often snag a year's supply of all of these dental needs for cheap. If you hate coupons, but you know someone who loves to coupon, ask them to help out by shopping for you in this department.
Many daily deal sites such as Groupon will have deals for dental visit included. Here, a local dentist had a complete cleaning and x-ray for just $38 a few weeks ago! Or check out at home coupon mailers such as Valpak when it arrives in your mailbox. Many dentists who are on the hunt for new clients will advertise in these. The deals may not be as great as what you'd find on the deal sites, but it might allow for you to find a dentist much closer to home.
There are also many supplies you can find at your local drug store or even dollar store to help keep your teeth not only clean, but to keep going in an emergency until you can get to a dentist. A numbing agent such as Orajel, as well as a small ziploc bag with sterile gauze and cotton balls should be kept in all emergency kits around the home and vehicle. You can also find some great over the counter products that I recommend having at home:
A dental pick and scaler set, such as the one Dentek markets. These sell for about $4, and you can find them at places like Walmart or Walgreens. If used on a regular basis with a healthy brushing and flossing routine, you can keep your teeth just about as sparkly clean as the dentist does! I've spotted a cheaper set at Dollar Tree, but I haven't tried it so I can't comment on the quality. I suggest having one set of these per family member, so you aren't sharing for sanitary reasons.
Dentek also markets something called Temparin Max that you'll find in the same area of the store. It's used to replace lost fillings and fix loose crowns. It's not a substitute for the real thing, but it can help you avoid paying for urgent dental work late in the evening and help you hang on until regular office hours for a slightly cheaper bill. I highly recommend keeping a container of this in your medicine cabinet whether or not you have dental insurance - things always happen at the worst time. For instance, you're not exactly going to run to the dentist if your filling falls out in the middle of a blizzard or hurricane, are you?
If you wear dentures, you can find a similar product, specifically made to fix dentures. If you, someone you care for, or anyone who might be staying at your home during an emergency scenario like a blizzard wears dentures, then you should keep this on hand. Like the Temparin Max, it's in the $5-7 range. (A little cheaper at Walmart)
And if you're just wanting to keep your pearly whites looking gorgeous while slaying zombies, and have a limited water supply, check out products that are available like Disposable Teeth Wipes. These flat disposable all in one toothrushes and toothpaste slip on your finger to brush and are usually individually wrapped, take up very little room in emergency kits, and barely use any water. These are also really great if you're living out of your car, or camping.
