If you are a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), you may realize that helping him/her with regular dental care is a real challenge. Depending on the stage of the illness your loved one is experiencing, you may need to simply provide a daily reminder or in the later stages of AD, provide hands on assistance to your loved one who may have forgotten how to properly perform daily oral care.
Oral hygiene is extremely important to overall health as well as promoting comfort and self-esteem regardless of the stage of AD your loved one experiences.
Daily Oral Hygiene for Those with Alzheimer’s Disease
In the early stages of mild AD, the focus should be on getting regular dental checkups, daily flossing and brushing to promote oral health in the hopes of preventing major dental work in the later stages of the disease when your loved one may be less able to tolerate long dental treatments.
During the later stages of AD, oral health may be much more of a challenge for caregivers and family members. Those with dementia may forget to use toothpaste, rinse properly or perhaps they may forget how to brush their teeth altogether.
Here are some tips for caregivers in providing good oral health to their loved one with AD:
Keep instructions on the steps to brushing and rinsing short and simple focusing on explaining the procedure using step-by-step instructions
Make sure dentures fit correctly-ill-fitting dentures may cause problems with eating and lead to a loss in appetite
Consider performing the act of brushing teeth to model the procedure for your loved one
If your loved one gets agitated, try at a time during the day when he/she is the most energetic and cooperative
If you need to do the brushing yourself, find a comfortable position for your loved one and place the toothbrush at a forty-five degree angle then gently massage the gums and teeth at least two times per day-and after the last meal/snack of the day before bedtime.
If your loved one has dentures, follow a nightly protocol to clean the dentures and don’t forget to use a soft brush or piece of gauze to clean the tongue and gums each day as well.
If your loved one has difficulty tolerating the tooth brushing procedure, try using different types of brushes. You may find a soft child’s brush is easier to manipulate
Electric toothbrushes may not be well tolerated because they can cause confusion
Be sure to floss regularly, if flossing is difficult for your loved one, consider using a proxabrush to thoroughly clean and remove particles between the teeth
Check the mouth for any sores or discoloration of the gums and soft tissue should be a pinkish color
Learn more about topics for Alzheimer’s prevention at AlzU.org by signing up for our 25 topic course when you CLICK HERE.
