So it’s obvious the elderly are outliving their teeth. My mom's bridge fell out. After 12 years of not going to the dentist. Now she needs $7000 in dental work. The dentist explained we can get her dentures but with her AD she would misplace them. My MIL already had to have a bunch of teeth pulled. What is everyone doing about taking care of your parents teeth?
My Husband had dementia and became uncooperative when it cam to dental work. and he had been an every 6 month check up guy. He did brush his teeth a lot, that was one of the last ADL's to go.
My options were to have him put under general anesthesia and have work done. There was no way I was going to put him through that, and me having to care for a man that had open wounds in his mouth. (the last time he had to have a tooth pulled because it shattered he kept trying to use a toothpick to dig out the "hurt". Not to mention the after effects of the anesthesia.
so my choice was to do oral care as best as I could using either a toothbrush then later the oral scrub/swabs given to me by Hospice. I monitored his mouth for infections and kept his mouth as clean as I could given the circumstances.
So there is a trade off.
My the time my Husband would have had to have dentures he was eating a pretty soft food diet then to a puree. The need for teeth just was not there.
So depending on what diet your mom is on should dictate how much dental work you follow up with. But also keep in mind the effects of whatever work is done.
Will she do well with extraction? Will she do well with anesthesia if necessary? Who will follow up with after care? Oral care is notoriously bad in Assisted Living and almost nonexistent in Memory Care. (despite the requirement that oral care be done)
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/dentist-wants-to-pull-10-teeth-on-my-87-yr-old-demented-mom-436076.htm
But it isn't just the money, and it isn't just the risk of the new denture going "walkies" - there's also the difficulty your mother may have in adjusting to the unfamiliar sensation. You could be throwing her money straight down the drain to no benefit.
So if a denture isn't a very sensible option, what does the dentist suggest instead? At least you know you can trust his/her advice: less ethical practitioners might have told you that after you'd got them and found they weren't working for her.
Will your mother be left with any healthy, opposing teeth at all?