Follow
Share

My 92 year old FIL still had a full set of teeth until recently. Three of his front uppers have fallen out and the other one is just a stub. He had a cleaning and the dentist says it does not hurt him and wants to file down the stub. My FIL ls insistent that he get implants. I know he doesn't have enough bone density left for that, and feel it would cause more harm than good. He is also colonized with MRSA. The only option available would be a partial plate. However, I am told by others that have been through this that he not only will not take care of dentures, but he will more than likely not use them as they are uncomfortable. I'm also told they will be lost in a very short time. I don't want to put him through many hours of dental visits for no good reason. Plus he does not want dentures. He wants implants. He says dentures are for old people. He's been waiting for years for stem cell therapy to fix whatever ails him. Do you think it would be wrong to tell him that the dentist implanted stem cells and he just has to wait for the new teeth to grow in? He has dementia and fixates on one thing for a while. I'm thinking this way he'll be happy until he forgets about the teeth. At least this latest obsession made him forget about trying to get his license back. You folks always have such great ideas. I was wondering what you think?

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Find Care & Housing

3 Answers

Most
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
My Dad, age 80 with dementia, had a gold crown fall out as he was eating. It had been in his mouth for over 50 years. At first my Mom and I didn't believe him when he said it had fallen out because he'd said things like this before. But there it was! He wasn't concerned with getting a new crown on what was left of the stub and he isn't bothered by pain or anything else (as far as we can tell). The only thing he was worried about was whether the crown was put away in a safe place so "no one could find it and take it"! We wrapped it up and put it away in a "safe place" and that was the end of it!
Helpful Answer (1)
Report
I think that you have a very creative solution. I agree with you that dental work at this point is unnecessary. But since Dad is obsessed with this and since he is already used to thinking about stem cell therapy, why not try that approach to move him off to some new and interesting fixation? One obsession at a time, right?
Helpful Answer (1)
Report
Ann, my mom had a front tooth break off at the gum line when she was 91 or so. Her dentist was able to make her a fake front tooth in a 90 minute visit. I don't know what he did, but he did it and it's been fine since. I have no idea if that could be done for several teeth. The other thing I'd ask about is called a "flipper", or a false tooth that you can pop in and out. My mom had that for a while for that same tooth. The only thing about that is your dad might lose it with his dementia. My mom eventually lost her flipper (she doesn't have dementia, but still lost it) and I took her to a different dentist and he did the *magical* fake front tooth. If you want me to call my mom's dentist to see what he did, just send me a message on my wall and I'll find out.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report
This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.

Recent Questions


Popular Questions


Related Questions

Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter