AD and dental work

Anyone here have experience with this? My mom is 89 years old and is living in assisted living. I received a call last night from her CNA stating that one of mom's bridges, a stationary one, broke out of her mouth. I was able to make her an appt at a dentist near where she lives. Bottom line, there is decay which caused the bridge to break and we are now thinking the best opiton would be to pull the remaining four teeth she has and just put in a bottom plate of false teeth. The problem is that she would be without teeth on the bottom for about 6 weeks to two months while the gum is healing from the teeth extraction. I'm just wondering how mom will handle all this and if there is any other option? She is really not happy at all about this and keeps telling me to forget it, that she will just deal with what she has, which really is not an option, but...go argue with someone with AD... just wondering if anyone else here has any suggestions?

Thanks

Miriam

Is her mouth hurting her? If not, it might be wise just to wait and see how things develop. Going to the dentist is traumatic for some people and especially with someone with AD it can make things even scarier. If it gets to the point where her mouth is hurting her or it gets infected, then it might be time to consider the options which is usually not that favorable. Meaning sedation for the extractions. People with AD do not respond well to sedation in most forms. Before my Gma really started declining, I took her to the dentist but the dentist gave her a very small dose of Valium to help calm her. But if your mom is very adamant about not going, you may not have much choice other then to get her on antibiotics if it becomes infected. Sometimes it's about picking your battles.

For my grandmother, we tell her when its time for dental appts that the denture is going to be fixed by a doctor so she doesnt have to have pain while wearing them. And then she usually quipps she doesnt remember complaining about them, and we just say, "oh you've mentioned it a few times. maybe your forgetters are working overtime." We make it kind of "fun" as you can tell. After the appointment we always take her to a restraunt so she associates with going to doctors, dentists gets a big treat to restraunt hehe.

*Whispers* We also tricked her into thinking she doesn't smoke anymore and quit years ago. Sometimes, this Dementia and Alheimers can be a plus LOL!

Thanks for your suggestions. My mom does not enjoy going out to eat any more...she is very insecure and just wants to be in her room...rarely even leaves her room, except for meals where she goes to a dining room and thankfully she is still able to do that. Can't really bribe her with anything any more...I wish I could. I was told once by a Social Worker that it is okay to tell "Alzheimer's lies"...just twist the truth a bit, step into their world and try to make things easier for us and them. Just a very tough road to travel. If I try to make light of things, she tells me I am being ridiculous. If I try to be stern and "take over" she resents it and tells me not to tell her what to do. She has always been an extremely stubborn woman so it's difficult.

Thanks again

Miriam

She enjoys her daughters spending time with her. I have two sisters, one that works at the facility, evening shift, so she is there to "tuck" mom in at night and my other sister and I switch off spending some time with her during the day. The ONLY thing she will do is go to bingo which is twice a week for about an hour. I learned today that she went to a wine and cheese social they had. She refuses to leave the facility. If she does leave, she is totally confused and returns in a horrible state. She has no other interests at all. She use to crochet, knit, volunteered, had friends. She gave everything up about 7 years ago. She is a stubborn as the day is long and you cannot convince her to do a thing. She lays in bed most of the day and listens to the TV -- that is it -- the CNAs and social director knock on her door and tell her what activity is going on, but she refuses to leave her room.

My mom won't allow the dentist to remove her bridge to get at the decay in a crown and underneath. She has very few teeth left and I know she will lose the ones she has, before long - and THEN what! It is very upsetting to me, but what can I do? It is what it is. She has neglected her teeth for years - we didn't realize this because she was living on her own and we didn't realize she had AD. I think she would just have teeth pulled instead of having them treated. Now her mouth is a mess... She is convinced that my dentist pulled 11 of her teeth on the last visit, when in reality, she has had them pulled over the years when she was living far away from where I live (I have moved her into a retirement community near me, now). She lives in a retirement community where they serve two meals a day and offer little trips and activities. She is going out less and less on the little trips to the store, etc... I think it is because she can't cope. She complains of being cooped up, but she won't go out. When I take her out, she gets totally confused about where she lives - and asks me where she is going to sleep. So, I think the structure of where she lives is helpful - and I have to not worry about her complaining about being cooped up, because she really can't handle going out much, anymore.

MT Lady, my Gma used to do that too. When she lived out of state, she would say she missed everyone and she was lonely. Then her husband (my Gpa) passed away and we moved her in with us and she still said she was lonely. It made me feel bad, like I somehow failed her but I realized that it was the dementia talking after a while.

My Gma was also a recluse eventually. She preferred to stay in her room even after the aids at the assisted living center kept trying to get her involved in things. Every Sunday they had choir singers and church services. She used to tell me how lovely they sang but she never left her room to go see them - she preferred to stay in her room. I would take her out once or twice a week for lunch or shopping; just to get her out of her room. But then she fell and broke her hip, was placed in a wheel chair. So her during her last days, when I would go visit her she would be in the game room just staring out the window. I guess she didn't have much say on where they wheeled her. :) But I was glad to see her out of her room.