Could you pull your own tooth out when sailing?

[Slainte1]

As an ex dentist all I can say is don't try unless the tooth is very loose. I wouldn't attempt to extract any tooth without the proper forceps. If there is swelling take some antibiotics until professional help is available

[bobnlesley]

A friend removed one in Chad - travelling by motorcycle - using two electrical screwdrivers and a pair of circlip pliers. He was sat under a tree and only 100m from the local dentist's surgery at the time, this was apparently located under the next tree down the road. The answer to my questions was: Yes, it hurt like F***, but the dentist didn't have any anaesthetic either and I could at least be sure that my bike's toolkit wasn't contaminated with the HIV virus.

[charliehows]

Man bleeds to death after yanking own tooth | Bangkok Post: news

[MBWhite]

The Hesperian Society has quite a few health care guides, designed for health workers in less developed areas:

Books and Resources | Hesperian Health Guides

They first came to mind here as they are the ones who created the book "Where there is no dentist", which was the first thing I thought of when I read the title:

Hesperian Books: Where There Is No Dentist PDF

That is a link to the page where you can purchase the book. At the bottom of the page is the link to downloading all of the chapters free.

You can also read the book online here:

Where There Is No Dentist - Hesperian Health Guides

Anyway, the PDF's of these are all over the internet and no reason not to have them when cruising. If you are fortunate enough to have additional finances a small donation to Hesperian would help as they do a pretty good job IMHO.

[secrabtree]

Originally Posted by Nostrodamus

I am a total wimp when it comes to pain but sometimes things need to be done.

The other day we were sailing on a 320 mile passage when my tooth just needed to be pulled out.
I got out the pliers, mole grips and a mirror and then realised I had used them 2 days before to unblock the heads.
I needed to pull the tooth but could you do it?

How does one know that he has a tooth that needs to be pulled out? I'm 80 years old and have had numerous teeth pulled, for various reasons. I never knew a tooth needed to be pulled until the orthodontist (when I was a kid) or the dentist lately so informed me. I've had teeth that hurt like hell and all that was required was a filling. On the other side of the coin I've had no pain, the dentist found a cavity so deep that a filling wasn't possible and the tooth was pulled. And it wasn't because the dentist needed money - although maybe she knew that the dental sugeon did.