Dental care for mother with dementia

My mother has many cavities and her teeth are falling off in bits and pieces and her bridge is also in bad shape. I don't know what to do. Her regular dentist wouldn't work on her since last year because they feel her dementia is getting worse and they don't want the liability of her biting them even though I know she won't. The problem she has is she just won't open her mouth. They suggested a dental school who have all the equipments but they work in stages and by the time they will actually work on her will probably be 6 months from now. She had 2 teeth extracted last year by an oral surgeon who was very nice but he doesn't do cleaning. I don't know if he's willing to pull more teeth from her since it's now a year later and my mom is a little worse off than before.
So first thing first. Does people with dementia just don't get their teeth cleaned or fixed? My poor mom has that look you see of women in their 90's with no teeth because she has quite a few missing in the front area. Implants are out because they are very complicated and also take too long and painful I heard.

I'm reluctant to put her under fearing the anesthesia will worsen her dementia. Yes if she got dentures she will certainly pull them out. The problem is she won't keep her mouth open too long and will start to cause problems by not holding still if she's there too long. 3 years ago I was taking her to her dentist every Saturday for a full month at 3 hours each to get all her filings done but even that she still has new cavities and at this stage she won't sit still like before.

So your GMA just went without dental care? I was told bad teeth needs to be pulled out fearing infections. I rather do it myself if I could. Just kidding.

I worked in long term care for a number of years and I remember the difficulty finding dentists willing to work with people who had dementia. It is sad, but understandable. They are difficult to work with when following instructions and describing their symptoms is so integral to the work being done.

Here is a link about dental care for people with Alzheimers: http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentid=138

If the above link isn't working for you, try this one:  http://tinyurl.com/7jpkq5w

It may help you. If you're not in the UK, ignore the part about finding an NHA dentist, but you can contact your local Alzheimer's association for a list of dentists more likely to work with your mom. You may even find the information online, but if not, telephone them as they are extremely helpful.

(eta: Not sure why the first link isn't working. Some of the time it does and some of the time it doesn't.  If you get the page not found response at the Alzheimer's Society page, use the 'search our site' box and type in or copy & paste: Dental care and dementia & it will take you to a page listing the article, then click on that article and it brings you to the link I posted above.  Or just use the tinyurl link instead - it's the same result.)

Post Edited (baby dumpling) : 5/2/2012 11:18:42 AM (GMT-6)

But are some Alzheimer patients really that violent? And is it due to confusion or anger issues from the brain?

My mom is unpredictable. Sometimes she knows how to brush once I start it for her and other times she takes it and brushes the sink with it. I try and make sure it's clean daily. Her teeth are falling out so there isn't much left and all dentists we've seen say just let her be and forget about trying to replace them. I notice a lot of doctors just like to give up because the patients are old and they think it's a waste of time and $.

It's not dangerous per se, but in order to to do implants on a dementia patient, it requires sedation - in most cases and they normally don't respond well to sedation (causes more confusion as they're coming out of it). But you should find a dentist in your area that specializes in geriatric care or dementia patients; her doctor might be able to help you find one.

Not lame at all! Teeth ARE important....sure food can be mushed up but it's not the same. I'm glad you found someplace to take her. Let us know how it goes okay?

She doesn't have dental insurance or money of her own? If not, tell the dentist this and they might be able to get you a discounted rate.

They could extract all upper teeth and then place 4 implants on the upper arch....one on each posterior area and 2 more wear the cuspids were. Then a full upper denture would be made to fit over those implants and that denture should fit real tight and she wouldnt be able to take it out. The placements of the implants she would need to very still or lightly sedated. Implants need to knit in the bone for a few months and then a implant metal thingy screw on top of each framework that is in the tissue. Then impressions for a full upper denture.3 weeks later the denture is finished.

Betsey

She could get a panorex xray done of her entire mouth. It rotates around her head. That way they can see how thick her bones are and how low her sinuses are. If individual xrays need done they could do digital xrays. Here and there . Put a wand in her mouth and it show up on a monitor. Neat how thing have improved over the years.

Let us know what he recommends from the consultation.
Betsey

The pan x-ray didn't happen. My mom is not capable of standing alone and holding on to the 2 handle bars AND bit down on this contraption. We were referred to a teaching hospital yet again but the waiting period is after the summer so I looked up an oral surgeon that extracted 2 teeth for my mom 2 years ago. His office said they have an pan x-ray taken of my mom from then but was very blurry. My mom' mental state is way worse now than before so I don't know how this will be taken this time. There are a total of 5 roots that needs to be removed and I don't know if implants will be recommended for her.


Sedation will have to be done to remove all the teeth. I just pray it will be done quickly and no lingering damage.

Question - what about people in wheelchairs? How do they get Pan x-rays taken?

Bella; my Mom has a swallowing problem, and was down to 84 lbs. She has been eating something called "Magic Cup" and she has gained a lot of weight -- she's up to 109. You can serve it like ice cream or like a custard, but my Mom loves it! Maybe this would help since your Mom has trouble with chewing? Here's the website:

http://www.hormelhealthlabs.com/2colTemplate_product.aspx?page=CO_MagicCup&cond_id=117&cat_id=119

Carol

This is a nutritional supplement. It's like ice cream but has more nutritional value. Maybe you could puree her food and use something like this as a supplement? I know I'd like my Mom to be able to eat more substantional things, but she can't, so I have to think of what her needs are. My brother and I just spoke about this yesterday; he said she is gaining weight, but I wish she'd eat more than pureed food and the magic cup. I said the time has come for her to eat what she really likes, and he agreed. Tough stuff, I know! Take care.