Do you have a dental kit for your bug out bag? I've seen a lot of great bug out bags loaded up with all manner of tacticool gear, tiny first aid kits stuffed into Altoid tins, and ultralight camping supplies. That's wonderful and all, but where's the dental kit?

What's a Bug Out Bag?

For new preppers, a bug out bag (BOB) holds the supplies you need to evacuate from your primary location to your (presumably safe) secondary location, aka your bug out location (BOL). Your bag is intended to get you from Point A to Point B.

BOBs are sometimes called 72-hour bags, a 96-hour bag, emergency bag, go bag, or get-out-of-Dodge (GOOD) bag. Whatever you call it, your bag holds your needed supplies for a limited period of time, just long enough to get to your BOL.

Your Bug Out Bag Needs a Dental Kit

Since you aren't living long term out of your BOB, you may not think that dental supplies are as important as other supplies, like a good knife or paracord. After all, what're a few days without brushing your teeth going to hurt, right?

Mouth pain is no joke. Imagine you ended up with some food stuck between your teeth. I find that wildly irritating and have to get it out. Otherwise, the gum swells, becomes tender and sometimes bleeds. Food can stay stuck there, rotting, causing bacteria to breed like rabbits. Next thing you know, you have an infection.

If you think mouth pain is miserable now, imagine it post-SHTF, with no access to a local pharmacy and no local dentist. Why deal with that, when simple brushing and flossing can dislodge that bit of beef jerky from your teeth?

Here's another example for you. You are bugging out, and while eating, a cap breaks off or a filling comes out. If you have the right supplies, you can fix that and get on with your bug out. Hopefully, there is a dentist where you are going. And hopefully, that dentist's office and still has power. But, imagine having to finish your bug out with an open cavity in your mouth.

You could fall and end up with a wound in your mouth, lose a tooth, or a half-dozen other things that are prevented by regular, daily dental hygiene. If this is going to be a long-term bug out, daily hygiene becomes even more important to prevent cavities, gum disease, and infections.