If you don't take care of your teeth, they will try to kill you.

I had a tooth go from bad but hasn't been a problem in years to pain so bad I couldn't walk straight in under 48 hours this week, with swelling ranging from collar bone to temple. Thank the gods and science for antibiotics! And I should know better- my mother had a tooth abscess that turned in blood poisoning and nearly took her out when she was my age. (No, I haven't told her yet- she's gonna scream at me when I do.)

So, short of pulling it and trying to draw the puss out with tannins and saline, what would be the procedure for dealing with this in a long term emergency? Or short term- there is no way I could have built a shelter and maintained a fire if I had been in the woods and not able to get to town quickly. I had a period of about 18 hours where all I did was shiver, sweat and sleep.

Take care of your teeth as much as you do your eyes. You can't make good replacements for them in the field, and you REALLY need them.