I agree with just about everything Grandma suggested, but would add that I would call around to find a dentist that has any experience dealing with dementia patients. How progressed is his dementia? Also, if your dad is on Medicaid, you might have problems finding a dentist to work on him.
It is fantastic that he has all his teeth. It is a risk to do the cleaning. Then what will you do if they find cavities or he requires other work? Also, every dentist usually insists on doing their own xrays. Not sure if you can convince them otherwise but I was not able to when I tried to get help for my MIL. But, if you can pull it off this may be his last cleaning as he has more and more decline. I'm assuming he's living with you, otherwise NHs have mobile dentists that come every few months. Let us know how it goes so others can learn from your experience. Thanks!
The vast majority of the people in the world get by without getting their teeth cleaned and up until very recent history almost no one in North America had this done either. The man is 90 and he is suffering from a terminal disease, unless he has a toothache let his teeth alone.
How long has it been since they were cleaned? If it has been within the past year and if he is compliant it is worth a try. You could "medicate" him before ask the doctor about a prescription that will calm and relax him. I will say if you do this do NOT bring him to the dentist alone you will need help getting him back in the care. You could ask around there are dentists that will make house calls. But usually to an Assisted Living, Memory Care facility sometimes a Senior Center. If it has been more than a year and he is having no problems and his daily routine includes brushing teeth, clearing the cheek/gum line area of any pocketed food it might be best to "let sleeping dogs lie". Would hate to have him end up with sore gums and he would become resistant to cleaning. Or to have the dentist try to pull a tooth.
Thanks for the responses. I was feeling guilty b/c he hadn’t seen a dentist since 2018 when he cracked a tooth. I’m canceling his appt. and not going to put him through all that. His teeth are not his biggest problem right now. Thx again!
It is fantastic that he has all his teeth. It is a risk to do the cleaning. Then what will you do if they find cavities or he requires other work? Also, every dentist usually insists on doing their own xrays. Not sure if you can convince them otherwise but I was not able to when I tried to get help for my MIL. But, if you can pull it off this may be his last cleaning as he has more and more decline. I'm assuming he's living with you, otherwise NHs have mobile dentists that come every few months. Let us know how it goes so others can learn from your experience. Thanks!
If it has been within the past year and if he is compliant it is worth a try. You could "medicate" him before ask the doctor about a prescription that will calm and relax him. I will say if you do this do NOT bring him to the dentist alone you will need help getting him back in the care.
You could ask around there are dentists that will make house calls. But usually to an Assisted Living, Memory Care facility sometimes a Senior Center.
If it has been more than a year and he is having no problems and his daily routine includes brushing teeth, clearing the cheek/gum line area of any pocketed food it might be best to "let sleeping dogs lie". Would hate to have him end up with sore gums and he would become resistant to cleaning. Or to have the dentist try to pull a tooth.