I'm already battling to get mom (Alzheimer's) to eat but now her dentures are causing ulcers on her bottom gum from ill fitting. Dentist has previously refitted them, but says her gums are too receded to do anything else. Any advice?
Can you take her to a prosthodontist? They specialize in dental appliances (we don't say the "D" word with our Mum). Mum's prosthodontist has to make adjustments occasionally for her; we have been told NOT to use an over-the-counter sticky stuff. Best to you and your Mum.
Do tour a assisted living residence...they always have a dentist that works closely with them...that dentist would be who I would take my parent to...i was blessed with a fabulous dentist that loves older patients...not all dentists have the patience ..so find one that loves and respects the elderly
Why on earth can't they make something for this situation, like a cushy plastic base for the teeth. Something that could act kind of like memory foam does and mold itself to slight variations over time. These wouldn't be dentures for "everybody" but for this kind of situation. If they can put a man on the moon....
My son just got a retainer after his braces came off. It's a softish clear plastic tray. It's not the rigid fake pink plastic piece with the big wire on it like I had. The right dentist needs to get on the stick here.
I googled, No Chew Cookbook and saw lots of interesting recipes, nutritious ! Also found one of my cookbooks on line titled, "Non-chew Cookbook" by J Randy Wilson . Definitely ask her dentists for suggestions. They may be able to prescribe a mouth rinse for the ulcers. , but definitely don't wear them and let the area breathe and heal.
If it just irritation on gums or palate, I spray a little Colloidal silver on the dentures before I put them on and on my gums and palate. Colloidal silver is safe to swallow and more effective against all infections, cuts, insect bites, cold sores, sore throat, etc. than any other remedy I know; it acts fast and is totally harmless.
Hi Eva, My Mom had the same problem and honestly the fix for us was just to leave them out altogether. She was happy to eat without them and just gum her food, but I know that's not a solution for everyone. It just became such a burden that it was easier on her to stop wearing them. Hope you find a solution that helps for your Mom!
~ Your Mom's dentist says there's nothing more he can do? I would find another dentist. My first set of dentures were awful. Someone recommended another dentist to me, when my insurance agreed to pay for new ones. This man was an artist! I don't even need to use the glue paste, and can eat corn on the cob. I would get a second opinion. Good luck and God Bless!
Please don't let her get new ones. It takes about 6 fittings to get them right and then they still don't fit properly. Old age and your gums is a problem. They really shrink and it is hard to get a good fit. Pureed food is the best bet and leave the dentures out till the gums heal. Then if she wants to wear them she can but I wouldn't suggest putting her back into eating with them.
Have your care receiver swish MOUTHWASH around in their mouth and spit it out after removing their dentures each evening. Its one of the things that denture wearers are likely not told to do, but is very important for maintaining mouth health. I tried the salt water method first to much care receiver disgust. Oh, and my care receiver bucks wanting to do this; I have caught her just dumping the mouthwash down the sink and pretending like she is swishing it in her mouth, also taking the cup of mouthwash and putting water in it so much that it overflows, lol! Since its something never done before for her, I imagine it scares her dementiated mind a bit...and likely does not taste good to her. Now the nightly routine is for me to pour some in my cup, hers in her cup. I add a bit of water to her cup to cut the minty taste, and we see who can swish the longest. Oh don't worry...she is usually done within seconds...but the satisfaction I feel knowing at least this task in her life is taken care of/has a solution is very rewarding as a care giver. Not to mention that any issues of inflamed gums, bacteria hanging out on the gums, the start of ulcers, any pain while she chews has been eliminated with doing this routine. Best of Luck to all of you dealing with this!
You'll definitely need to go tell the dentist who issued her dentures, they are the ones who can resolve the problem. Meanwhile, you may have to use the blender to blend her food so that you can eat without teeth. This is a much better alternative than continuing to wear a pair of dentures that will only worsen the problem.
At some point in his dementia, my dad had to just quit wearing his dentures and go to eating soft foods only. There was no fitting of them anymore, because he could not describe 'feelings' or fit. Same with his glasses. Unable to go through an eye exam and concentrate enough to describe which lens helped him see better either.... So no dentures in, and we just kept the old glasses. The brain in dementia, doesn't the send the right signals to the eyes anyhow....and the field of vision just becomes more and more narrow. I think that explains why so many just become more and more inward and incommunicative. My Dad normally loved to watch birds and look at all things in nature. In later stages of dementia, I could stand right next to him, looking at a big bird out the window on the fence, and he could not even see it....until it flew....so on his own....no enjoyment of nature anymore. If someone was communicating and leading him to look...it would work.
And another thing about eating....We noticed my Dad, not eating well in his facility.....but it was the brain, sending strange signals to him about the eating. He would forget he was looking at food. He would think the food was something else or that it wasn't even there, but was part of the plate. If someone sat ad communicated while he ate, and kept the redirection going, then he would eat well. One day, while visiting he said he was hungry....the food was good and he just hogged it all down. I said, "Dad, do you want somemore?" His response....like a child, " Sure, but look.....it's all gone so I can't have more...." He had lost the notion that there would be more somewhere or he could ask for more and it would be put on his plate. That was a wake up to me, as to why these people, with no family visiting who understand and oversee their loved ones activities, just fade away and die. Staff cannot sit there, one on one through every meal with every person....and just encourage them about eating or think about offering more food. I think every facility ought to make it a practice that if someone empties their place, they are automatically given a little more and assessed for how they eat it....but what I witnessed, so many times, was....if someone stopped eating, or started being interested in wandering away or playing with a napkin....instead of redirecting back to eating, staff were quick to pick up that plate....another chore finished....and get on with the next thing on their list, rather than realizing that FOOD is what keeps people alive....and GOOD food is usually the highlight of the day to any elderly person, whether or not they verbalize that.
If they're ill-fitting, I would take them back to the dentist so that he can do it right. It's not acceptable that they don't fit right. Salt water rinses are always a good thing. I'm so sorry this had happened.
My mother had the same problem. Imagine not being able to enjoy eating (one of the simple pleasures they have left at this age of 91!). She was really fighting me on this, for the past two years. I had to kind of trick her and tell her that we were getting her existing dentures fixed and that it wouldn't cost very much (feeling a little guilty). I decided to finance new dentures even though I really didn't have the money...and it was worth it just to see her enjoying everything she wanted to eat. It only took a couple of weeks, and she was able to wear her old dentures while the new ones were being made. I cant express to you how much happier she is now, and knowing that her quality of life is so much better. Get it fixed...it's worth it!
I know a few people with dementia who are doing fine without their dentures, due to fitting issues They seem to be able to eat pretty well and not just pureed food.
One of my friends told me that when her mom had Alzheimers she did not use her dentures for many years and that she ate just fine. She said the bony part of the gum worked for her mom and that she ate just about anything she wanted except for hard or tough food like steak.
Leave them out until the gums heal and you can get a prescription for Kenalog (dental paste). As the bone structure changes due to bone loss one's dentures and partials are bound to change. This requires a remodeling of the denture. If the dentist won't do it, I take my Dremel and slightly re-contour the shape until it feels great for my partials.
I fell out of the bathtub and lost most of my teeth. What are the names of the types of Dentists that can help determine if I am a candidate for implants. Has anyone attempted to appeal to their Medicare not Medicaid supplemental plan to pay for implants for " medical reasons". LisaB.
My grandmother never wore her dentures unless she had company or was going out. She survived quite well without them by modifying her diet and sticking to softer foods.
My mom also has problems off and on. She leaves teeth out as much as she can. Soft food is a must to keep pressure off the gums. Also to help heal if you can get her to rinse with warm salt water a few times a day that will help the healing process.
You might want to go to a dentist to see if they need to be relined, in the mean time you can pick up mouth sores Medicine over the counter. Hope this helps?
I imagine that can be very painful. I would take her to the dentist and have them adjusted. Maybe a dentist could help. In the meantime, mushy food, oatmeal , soup. ensure and stuff like that.
My Moms dentures are ill fitting as well. She had an ulcer at one time but it cleared up. Her doctor told her she must use Seabond cushion strips or a paste in which to hold them in place. It will help keep the dentures from sliding around and reduce friction against the gums. Good luck with that. My mom refused to use anything. She continues to remove her teeth after meals too. Hopefully we don't have any future issues like this.
I wear an upper plate and while it fits ok, I find that when I use Polident liberally, they don't move around at all and stay tight all day long. Best wishes. Grace + Peace,
I'm so sorry! This is so frustrating for everybody. My dad had the same problem. Sometimes he had to leave them out to let the gums heal. There was nothing more the dentist could do. When his mouth healed, we'd go back to fixodent to keep them in for eating, but it was always a battle.
There are pads that help some people. They fill up space and protect gums. But they were only occasionally satisfactory for Dad. We kept trying everything available, but there was no great fix. Leaving the teeth out while the mouth heals seems to help but then it starts all over again.
I'm afraid this will be a constant battle - trying to maintain gum health and balance that with nutrition and in some cases self-esteem. Dad hated leaving his teeth out.
I wish I had a magic fix. Maybe someone else has a better idea. Take care, Carol
My son just got a retainer after his braces came off. It's a softish clear plastic tray. It's not the rigid fake pink plastic piece with the big wire on it like I had. The right dentist needs to get on the stick here.
Also found one of my cookbooks on line titled, "Non-chew Cookbook" by J Randy Wilson
.
Definitely ask her dentists for suggestions. They may be able to prescribe a mouth rinse for the ulcers. , but definitely don't wear them and let the area breathe and heal.
Some people have trouble with zinc in the adhesive.
This man was an artist! I don't even need to use the glue paste, and can eat corn on the cob. I would get a second opinion.
Good luck and God Bless!
And another thing about eating....We noticed my Dad, not eating well in his facility.....but it was the brain, sending strange signals to him about the eating. He would forget he was looking at food. He would think the food was something else or that it wasn't even there, but was part of the plate. If someone sat ad communicated while he ate, and kept the redirection going, then he would eat well. One day, while visiting he said he was hungry....the food was good and he just hogged it all down. I said, "Dad, do you want somemore?" His response....like a child, " Sure, but look.....it's all gone so I can't have more...." He had lost the notion that there would be more somewhere or he could ask for more and it would be put on his plate. That was a wake up to me, as to why these people, with no family visiting who understand and oversee their loved ones activities, just fade away and die. Staff cannot sit there, one on one through every meal with every person....and just encourage them about eating or think about offering more food. I think every facility ought to make it a practice that if someone empties their place, they are automatically given a little more and assessed for how they eat it....but what I witnessed, so many times, was....if someone stopped eating, or started being interested in wandering away or playing with a napkin....instead of redirecting back to eating, staff were quick to pick up that plate....another chore finished....and get on with the next thing on their list, rather than realizing that FOOD is what keeps people alive....and GOOD food is usually the highlight of the day to any elderly person, whether or not they verbalize that.
I cant express to you how much happier she is now, and knowing that her quality of life is so much better. Get it fixed...it's worth it!
One of my friends told me that when her mom had Alzheimers she did not use her dentures for many years and that she ate just fine. She said the bony part of the gum worked for her mom and that she ate just about anything she wanted except for hard or tough food like steak.
pay for implants for " medical reasons". LisaB.
Best wishes. Grace + Peace,
Bob
There are pads that help some people. They fill up space and protect gums. But they were only occasionally satisfactory for Dad. We kept trying everything available, but there was no great fix. Leaving the teeth out while the mouth heals seems to help but then it starts all over again.
I'm afraid this will be a constant battle - trying to maintain gum health and balance that with nutrition and in some cases self-esteem. Dad hated leaving his teeth out.
I wish I had a magic fix. Maybe someone else has a better idea.
Take care,
Carol