Mom has moderate advanced dementia and her tooth fell out. She refuses to wear her dentures and just has a few teeth left. What to do?

If it isn't bothering her, let her be. I am 71, my teeth were beautiful and strong until, in my late 40's, they started to turn powdery white, then hollow out and eventually breaking. I went to the dentist faithfully but, I had been on seizure meds for over 20 years and found out that is what caused it. I eventually had to have all my upper teeth removed or started removing them in late 1999 but, had a minor heart attack that set me back. They pulled them in 2001, got an upper denture but, the bottoms started coming loose, breaking and leaving sharp edges that I simply filed off myself. I had them pulled in 2008. Got lower dentures that rubbed my mouth raw. New ones again in about 2012, still not good. In 2017, I got 2 implants in lower gums and new dentures that fit great. Until my bones begin to disentegrate. Now, I have 2 brass studs and no teeth but, I can wipe out a steak, tortilla chips, fried, baked, broiled & grilled foods with no problem. My gums have toughened up. The only problem I have is nuts of any kind. Takes 30 minutes of chewing to eat a couple of cashews. I tried using my dentures a couple of weeks ago when we finally were able to go to a restaurant to dine and I still have a sore area from them. Hubby fussed at me for not wearing them for years then, he got some and he seldom wears them now. Says they are uncomfortable and we both agree, it's easier to go without them.

If there is no infection or fear of her swallowing a tooth, let her eat what she wants or thinks she can. Her gums will get tougher thru use.

I agree with the other folks who encouraged if no infection, let it go. My mother, a tough old gal, pulled her own teeth when they got loose. Freaked me out because I am terrified of dentists. I do not use the word terrified lightly.

Not much you can do if she doesn't want to wear her dentures. However, you can switch her to a dental soft diet - foods that don't require "biting into" or much chewing.

Imho, as long as your mother is not a cardiac patient, it may not be a concern.

Forget the teeth - old people are notorious for bad teeth and will always lose false teeth. When they have no teeth, they will eat soft, mushy foods. They'll survive.

The dentist can answer all of your questions especially about infection or other issues that could arise. She may surprise you have have total clarity when he talks to her. Not sure why - but clarity seems to come when in the presence of others.

As long as it is not bothering her.
As long as there is no infection.
As long as she has no underlying cardiac disease that might put her at risk if there is an infection.
I would not do anything about it.
Chances are if she is not compliant with someone poking around in her mouth in order to do anything they would have to use medication to relax her, put her in twilight sleep possibly and it may take a long time to recover from that.
If she is willing to have someone look to determine if there is an infection that would be helpful. I would treat the infection but go no further.
IF she is not on a soft, pureed diet she may be headed that way due to oral health but with advanced dementia pureed foods is pretty much the norm.

I wouldn't worry about it.
Teeth fall out all our lives.
As long as it's not bothering her.

I had a situation like this - went through a visiting dentist creating a partial bridge for my mom in memory care who suddenly started losing teeth at the gum line. It was not really a great use of our time and money, as she only lived another 6 months or so and she hated the bridge, saying it hurt her cheek. I wish we'd just skipped it, but at the time I didn't know that it wouldn't work for her and also, of course, had no idea she'd only live that long. But when someone has the option of softer foods, and is not in any pain from the missing teeth, as others have already responded, it's probably best not to fret and not to invest in dentures, etc., especially when there's dementia.

She may be more cooperative with the dentist if you aren’t present. Let the dentist decide what should be done

I’m a retired dental hygienist who practiced and taught. It comes to a point where we have to be realistic. My dad lost his lower denture in the NH and his upper wouldn’t stay in due to his weight loss. He wanted another set but I knew that would be unrealistic so I had the upper relined. It was just the temporary one at first and he tore it out of his denture that night!!! So I said, that's it! No more and he ate a soft diet without his teeth.
for your mom, I also would not recommend a new denture, partial or bridge etc. keep the teeth she has cleaned with anti cavity toothpaste and a mild fluoride mouthwash like Act to help prevent decay. It would be helpful if she can have the hygienist continue to help maintain the ones she has left. If she has dry mouth, the fluoride rinse is even more important. Bioteen makes great products for dry mouth. Find them on the dental aisle of a drug store.

I'm thinking salt water or mouthwash rinse, just to keep it clean. At a point we decided the dentures were more of a choke risk than help.

My mom's nursing home called re on Sunday and told me Mom lost a tooth at breakfast. Did I want them to save it for me?

Do I look like the Tooth Fairy?? 😄

I was there today with er hospice nurse, and we checked her mouth to find out she's not missing A tooth -- she's missing three!

The nurse said that absent an infection or red swollen gums, loosing teeth is just another of the indignities of old age. You adjust their diet as needed and move on.

Not in a million years would I subject my mother to a dentist, bridges, or dentures at this point, so we'll just soften up some of her meals (she consumes very little beyond Ensure anyway) and continue as before.

Lea,

I agree! Why can’t people be like sharks that generate new teeth when others fall out? LOL.

God goofed with designing our teeth!

Ah, the ongoing nightmare of God's big mistake: one set of teeth which are expected to last a person for 90+ years if they live to advanced old age. My mother is 94+ and loses teeth or pieces of teeth on a regular basis. I threw away her partial when I moved her from AL into Memory care 2 years ago b/c she refused to wear it. Since then, she's lost about 3 more teeth including a WISDOM tooth! I was shocked when I heard that. The visiting dentist charged nearly $1000 for that little extraction since it was considered a 'surgical procedure'. Ahem. So last week when we went to see her, she explained she'd lost a 'little little little baby tooth' while she was eating the night before, which could mean anything from a bit of a filling to a piece of a tooth to nothing at all. She says she's in no pain & eats like a truck driver, so all's well until it isn't at which time I'll call the robbers back in, ooops, I mean the traveling dentists. But it's a very traumatic experience for her when they do come, not to mention a very expensive one, so I try to limit their visits. Mom has no molars left (I don't think) but all of her front uppers and lowers, which is all she cares about. They don't look good at all, either, but hey, they're THERE at 94+ which is nothing short of miraculous, right? :)

Do the least you can possibly do for your mother's teeth/mouth situation, that's my advice. As long as she can eat, she's good to go. If she's like my mother, she can wolf down ice cream like there's no tomorrow and they need NO teeth to do that! LOL

Thank you all for your helpful answers!

If she's not in pain and still able to eat pain-free, then I wouldn't do anything. You can't force her to wear her dentures. Just adjust her foods.
Have the dentist come and check her out anyway. He'll probably tell you the same thing. It's still important to keep up on her oral hygiene though. Even though her remaining teeth don't look good there could be nothing actually wrong with them.

My husband stopped wearing his dentures 2 years ago as he could no longer handle them. He never went to the dentist anyway so I never took him after that. I just checked in his mouth with a flashlight to make sure his gums looked healthy about once a week. He still ate regular food. Sure, it was not attractive but at that point that was the least of my worries.

We went through something similar with my MIL. She had a partial plate that broke and she was afraid to go to the dentist plus her husband didn’t want to spend the money on any medical care. They both had dementia. She was always attentive to her appearance and it was difficult to see her let it go. She was in no pain. It was all cosmetic and didn’t interfere with her diet.
My DH aunt, 94 and with dementia frequently takes her upper plate out when she eats. She hasn’t worn the lowers in years. I worry she will lose the uppers as it would be next to impossible to go through being fitted again. She manages very well with her diet which has been primarily soft foods for many years.
So I agree, if no infection, then she should be fine.
Since the dentist is coming to her, that’s great. Good job on making that happen. Hopefully she will allow him to take a peek inside. Perhaps you could get her to open wide for some snap shots with your cell phone beforehand. That might let her practice and be of some benefit to the dentist.
When my daughter was a little girl she would say that she didn’t mind going to the dentist, she just didn’t want him putting his hands in her mouth. Hopefully her dentist will only need to take a look and find all is well.

This is a pretty common challenge in the elderly. I think any solution depends on her cooperativeness with the dentist and procedures. If she doesn't cooperate I'd just make sure she is being checked for infection.

My aunt is 99 with advanced dementia and she stopped wearing her partials and bridges. Her dentist filed (or cut) down the teeth in those areas and she does still have other teeth, but is missing about 50% of them. She still manages to eat most foods. Chasing after dental care can be a black hole of time and money with very little gain for the LO. Your mom's health and comfort is the goal, so monitoring for infection would be my strategy going forward.