Getting sick while traveling is never fun. Having a dental emergency requiring a root canal can be extra tricky. Joe had been experiencing some minor tooth sensitivity prior to our trip. Our dentist didn’t think there was an immediate need for treatment at the time. Unfortunately, Joe’s symptoms worsened during our first week in Central Asia, and on the last night in Almaty we realized that he needed to see the dentist in Bishkek.
After an exam and dental xray, the Russian dentist determined that Joe needed a root canal with a follow up in 6 days, which obviously wouldn’t work because we would be in Tajikistan by then. After much back and forth Google Translation, it was decided that conservative management with antibiotics and NSAIDs would be the best course of treatment until we get back to the States. Interestingly, the dentist just told us to take a “broad spectrum antibiotics” without providing us with a script or even giving us a specific name for the medication. Luckily, I was able to confirm with him that Amoxicillin/Clavulanate was what he had in mind. Apparently, patients in Kyrgyzstan are able to just go to the pharmacy and ask for antibiotics without a prescription. A convenience, but what an absolute nightmare from the medical community’s standpoint – a topic for another day.
For now Joe is pain free on this regimen, and fingers crossed that he’ll remain so until we get back home.
FIRE'd @ 47 