Dental problems

[New KAJO]

Hi guys,

 

I was wondering what happens if someone gets dental problems while being on a cruise.

 

I can imagine this already happened.

 

What do they do then ? Is there some kind of dental care available on the ships ?

 

Thanks,

 

Kajo

[Keith1010]

When we were on a Celebrity Cruise several years ago my son had a problem where he needed dental care and Celebrity made arrangements for us to see a dentist in the next port of call. All of the cruise lines we are familiar with will do this for you.

 

Keith

[MEcruzr]

My mom knocked her two front teeth out on a cruise... they couldn't help her at all on the ship. They didn't offer to help make an appt either. We spent the last three days in our cabin... with her eating soup from room service. She didn't get help until after we got home. That was not the best cruise ever for either of us... dh had a housefire while I was gone. We can laugh at it now, but at the time... it was horrible. She went home with no teeth, I went home to half a home. lol

 

Stacy

[Desertbelle]

I remember reading that the cruise lines hire dentists to care for the teeth of their crew, but they are only around once or twice a year, so it's possible that a dentist and his equipment might be on the ship you have a problem.....but not likely.

 

Having had a need for a root canal in November, I would surely hate to have something like that happen on a cruise. Ouch!!

[AuntieStorm]

One of my waiters on the Mercury Mexican Riveria cruise had a tooth problem of some sort. He told us that Celebrity had made an appointment for him at the next port of call. Whatever the problem was, it was apparently fixed after that port because he was smiling the rest of the cruise.

[Marytutor]

On our Baltic cruise with Celebrity, I had a horrible nose bleed that would not stop. In Helsinki they had a ship's agent take us to a speciaist and it was taken care of and we were back on the ship within an hour. In St Petersburg, I had to be taken by ambulance in the middle of the night and had to go back the next day. They were very good about getting anyone who needed to the proper facility. We tried to tip the ship's agent and he refused and said that it was part of his job.

 

Mary

[dmk]

I just came back from the Millenium TA. I broke a tooth in half on the second day of the cruise. The dr. on board made arrangements for me to see a dentist the next day in Cadiz. There was a taxi waiting for me at the gang plank. I was very impressed since they had never been to this port before.

Lucky I wasn't out in the Atlantic. The dentist spoke Spanish no english. Luckily, We both spoke some french.

No complaints..all was handled beautifully. Thank goodness for Travel Insurance!!

[smdubowsky]

Hi-

 

I'm a frequent Celebrity cruiser (we're on the Summit next month) and a dentist. I usually go down to the medical office and introduce myself when I board but honestly there's not much that can be done without the proper equipment. On a cruise with frequent stops, it is not that big a deal, but for a transoceanic cruise, there could be a problem.

 

To the best of my knowledge Celebrity does not hire dentists for their crew. Holland America does have dental care for their crew on most of their ships. I've seen the deal they give participating dentists. It's not very generous. For me when I'm on a cruise I'm on vacation!

[Kathie44]

On the plane to Anchorage in '03 our friend was trying to open a little packet of airline nuts with his teeth and a front tooth fell out of his dentures. On the bus to the hotel, the X rep, called someone who called a dentist, who would have taken him in the morning (this was a Sun. evening). X would have shuttled him to Talkeetna afterward, but our friend decided he didn't want to miss the glass-domed train and just toughed it out with the gap. But it was nice that the X rep did find help for him and if it had been a more serious problem it would have been fixed.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Hi-

 

To the best of my knowledge Celebrity does not hire dentists for their crew. Holland America does have dental care for their crew on most of their ships. I've seen the deal they give participating dentists. It's not very generous. For me when I'm on a cruise I'm on vacation!

 

I have a book written by a dentist who filled that role for Holland America. He mentions providing dental care for the crew but doesn't mention passengers. I assume HAL would require his help with a dental emergency by a passenger.

[niborHS]

Quite a number of years ago, when my 22 year old was a child, he started having tooth pain while we were on a ship. The next port of call was St. Thomas. Someone at the dock directed my husband to a medical building across the street and recommended a particular dentist. My husband walked in, and the waiting room was very crowded. He opened the door to another dentists office in the building. The room was empty, there were children's toys around, with colorful wall hanging, so my husband inquired about the dentist. It turned out that the dentist was an American who had gone to the University of Colorado dental school, was relatively young, and did a great job of taking care of my son's tooth. Over the years we have been in various places in need of medical attention, and never had a problem at all. Just ask, and don't wait to be spoon fed by the cruise line. You are not all idiots, so please don't act like one.

[hermang]

CVS and other pharmacies sell - toothache gel/liquid, Temporary filling stuff and other such emergency materials - less than $10 - I always carry with JUST IN CASE. I'd also check with your dentist to see what he recommends

 

Had to use the filling once - lasted til we got home when my denitst made the repair permanent

 

http://www.dentalkit.com/

[Beach Nut]

Looks like good trip insurance to me.

 

I'll be ordering one of the emergency dental kits to take along.

 

Cruise Critic is great!

 

Susan