Mom (93 with alzheimers) is often grinding her teeth, we've ruled out medication related. We've been giving her gum. Any suggestions?

We have the same problem with my mother (she is almost 92 and is in end-stage Alzheimers). This is not a small problem, she grinds with a vengence even when we are trying to feed her. Carol Lynn is right she will not tolerate a mouth guard or other appliance and we are worried that she may break her teeth and then what will we do? She cannot have dental work done, she will not open her mouth, she will bite anyone who puts their fingers in her mouth and she cannot tolerate being laid on her back, with her head back. She is bed-bound and we are worried that she will break her teeth and then be in a lot of pain and we are trying to avoid this. Her grinding is so bad that she can be heard 2 rooms away. We have tried gum and chewy candy...neither have worked...but have wound up in her hair...If ANYONE has an option that has worked for them, I'd love to know.

Many antipsychotic and seizure meds list a side effect of "tardive dyskinesia" which includes tooth grinding, finger staring, pill rolling and other repetitive movements.

The mouthguard is a great idea for an average person but I'm sorry to say I don't think a dementia person would tolerate it for very long if at all.

I had a very good friend who was a grinder and went through numerous appointment with her even to UCLA dental school. ALL of her dentist indicated that she needed to do something about it because it would damage her enamel as well as the road her roots. I am surprised to hear her dentist say that that's no problem, maybe its relative because of her age and the length of time it might take to do the damage, where my friend was only 45 at the time. I dunno?? This was many years ago and they didn't have generic self-fitting mouthguards, but my friends problem was solved buy an expensive custom made unit. She wore it begrudgingly but vocally considered it a necessary evil (the reason I believe a dementia patient would not tolerate it).

A lot of the causes of teeth clenching is worry, tension or anxiety. To try something with no side effects that might be helpful, look into Hylands homeopathic "Calms" - they have a regular and night time (Forte) version. The Forte doesn't put you to sleep or anything, it's just more relaxing than the regular if a person need that. Verify with your doctor about using the product but most doctors today have heard of homeopathy and don't mind authorizing the use of it because they know it's non-toxic and they don't think it's going to work anyway.

A prescription medication that could help, also helps with the anxiety of dementia or Alzheimer's, is Buspar. It's and effective drug and its not anticholinergic, so it doesn't contribute to free term memory problems. Ask the Dr.

number1 - you are your moms caretaker. You not only have the right but also the responsibility to pay attention to what may become a problem for her.

You're here to get information suggestions and guidance from people who have been there, done that. Please don't get turned off by negative responses.

Keep asking questions with the realization that you know you're not going to be solving every little problem. You can still be coming formed.

I have a 60 year old brother that has the same issue as lindaz's mom. in-fact my brother has already brook few teeth grinding his teeth. i've also tried everything from gum to chewy candy, but it doesn't work. his dementia is severe and everyday i'm in tears to see him like this. I was thinking of ambesol gel the kind moms use on babies when they are teething would that help? if someone would advise I would appreciate it.

My mom with Alzheimer's just started grinding her teeth as well. After reading all the posts and hearing everybody's experience with this, I'm thinking and thinking about what could possibly be stressing her out? Can't think of anything? I'm her son and caregiver and trust that I'm the one who's stressed out to the max.
For the most part, she doesn't even know what's happening half the time. A few years ago she used to attend a day care facility 5 days a week while I was at work. There she would often fight with other participants (patients) who were staring at her too long or looking at her the wrong way or for whatever reason, most of the time because of them damn U.T.I's, Anyway, Our lovely primary physician prescribed a low .25 dose of Alprazolam (Xanax) to see if that would alleviate the problem and it did. Yay!! She got to stay! Tonight is the first time since the day care that I have had the need to drug her up but, for her own peace, safety and comfort (and mine) I gave her a pill tonight with some pudding and guess what? I can hear her snoring like a baby on my cam as I write this post. Again, this is the first time in a while that I've drugged her but I think I have found the answer.....Wow!! Now I can take my pill and go to sleep! Good luck to everybody and I suggest this to each and every one of you. Xanax is a Miracle drug.....Lol- Goodnight!

i'm caring for my mother-in-law who has fronto-temperal dementia. she started grinding her teeth while awake about 6 months ago. its not only damaging to her teeth but horrible...impossible to listen to. she doesn't seem to be in any pain. we think she's actually fulfilling some need or actually soothing herself. rather than candy or mouth pieces try a plastic straw. if you don't mind a straw hanging from her mouth our family has found it works great. she gets to chew away and the irritating noise is gone. the plastic does NOT tear so in her case there is no chocking issue.

I grind my teeth at night ( I do not have alzheimers). I wear invisalign so that helps a lot, but I definitely have cracked a few teeth because of it. It's completely involuntary and the only thing that reduces it for me is reducing stress (by medication and by self care)

Angel

My mom also has dementia. She is nonverbal. She grinds so loud, it can be heard from another room. She can't chew gum because she will swallow it. She doesn't appear to be in pain, and laughs and is always in good spirits. I think it is just another stage of dementia as that part of the brain becomes involved. There is no stopping it. She won't open her mouth for a dentist or mouth guard. She ambulates with assist, so a relaxant is not possible because we are afraid she will fall. Good luck everyone with this awful disease. I understand what you all are going through.

We actually found a mouth guard worked slightly with my Mum (who would grind so hard you could hear the teeth crack, and was wincing with the pain). The issue with the guard was who she would trust to put it in, and could not be used for too long as if she was actively grinding it would rub a sore on her inner lip. We also used a childs dummy, although had to be careful to use a robust one, as otherwise would break off. Also if she chewed it too hard it also rubber the lips on the outside. Before she had issues swallowing, and ground only for a couple of hours a day we found giving her carrot sticks or cucumber from the fridge to chew helped. At the moment she is grinding all day when awake, and we have found that a muscle relaxant only works some of the time, and to get her to go to sleep at night on particularly bad days, we have to resort to a short term strong pain killer that basically makes her so dozy she drops off.