Camping oral care: a simple plan for water, waste and supplies

A little planning makes it easier to keep your familiar oral-care routine while camping. Before you pack, find out where you can get safe water, dispose of toothpaste waste and store your supplies.

This IVORI camping oral-care plan starts with the place you are visiting. A campsite with washrooms and a remote pitch need different arrangements. Check the site's information before leaving, then read any notices when you arrive.

1. Identify your safe-water source

Look for a confirmed drinking-water supply, rather than assuming every campsite tap is suitable. If none is available, include safe water for oral care in your trip's water plan.

The CDC's camping water guidance includes brushing teeth among the ways untreated water can make you ill. A clear-looking stream can still contain harmful germs.

If your trip involves treating water, learn the appropriate method from authoritative guidance before departure and check local water advisories. Treatment methods have different limits; boiling or disinfecting cannot make water contaminated with harmful chemicals safe.

2. Decide where toothpaste waste will go

At a serviced campsite, use the designated facilities and follow its instructions for personal-hygiene waste. Check which sinks or disposal points are intended for the task.

Away from facilities, look up the land manager's disposal rules before you travel. Leave No Trace suggests spitting toothpaste into a rubbish bag as an alternative to leaving it on the ground, where it can attract wildlife or wash into waterways.

For a pack-out plan that fits your destination's rules, bring a suitable sealable waste bag or container. Pack out used floss and small pieces of packaging too. Keep toothpaste waste out of streams and lakes, and store carried waste as the local scented-item rules require.

3. Include toothpaste in your storage plan

Food-storage instructions can cover toiletries as well as meals. Leave No Trace advises checking with local land managers, because the right storage depends on the wildlife and regulations where you camp.

For example, in the US, North Cascades National Park includes toothpaste in its food-storage requirements and identifies keeping toiletries in a tent as unsafe or illegal. That is a destination-specific example, so check your own campsite's requirements before choosing a tent pocket or washbag as overnight storage.

Work the required storage into your routine: retrieve the supplies when needed, then return toothpaste and scented waste to the required storage when you have finished.

4. Pack for the routine you already know

Bring your usual toothbrush, fluoride toothpaste and the supplies you use to clean between your teeth. Check that you have enough for the trip before everything goes into your bag.

The NHS recommends brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste, including last thing before bed and on one other occasion. Getting ready for the day can be a useful cue for that other session. Allow time to walk to shared facilities and put supplies away afterwards.

Your four-point departure check

• Water: you know where safe drinking water will come from.
• Waste: you have a disposal plan that follows the site's instructions.
• Storage: you know the requirements for toothpaste and scented waste.
• Supplies: your familiar oral-care kit is packed and ready.