When should elders teeth be pulled?

I wouldn't think it's a good idea to pull teeth AT ALL unless they are rotting or painful.
Are you asking because a loved one is biting?
I don't personally think pulling teeth out is a good alternative... Can you share why you're asking ?

I took my mom 89 year old mom to the dentist, and the dentist recommended four teeth be pulled. Mom is on a blood thinner (for atrial fib), and they had to pull her off the med before the procedure. She had a major stroke and ended up in the hospital. Lesson learned... weight the risks versus the benefits before making a decision.

I'd like to hear more about this topic, too. Some time ago, my Mom decided to have her teeth pulled and get dentures. She found a dentist who started pulling her bad teeth then announced he was going to put in bridges. That wasn't what she thought she'd agreed-to and she was out of money, anyway.

RIght now, she says her teeth don't hurt but if she loses yet another one, I have to wonder if she'll be able to properly eat.

By the way, our local area has some dental resources for seniors and I'm hoping that they're reduced-price but haven't looked into them, yet.

I don't know if I was clear, but my mom had her bad teeth pulled but no money to put anything in their place and now has quite a lot of gaps.

I believe the current practice is to keep teeth as long as possible, unless rotted or infected as mentioned previously. If the dentist is in a rush to pull teeth or do major surgery, get a SECOND OPINION. We were told our young daughter needed a root canal done for an injured tooth, got a second opinion and 20 years later her natural tooth is still fine!

when they chew up my work boots. them s**ts are expensive..

The best teeth are natural teeth. Why do you want to pull them? If some teeth are rotten, pull them and put an implant in or a bridge. Unless the bones holding the teeth can no longer support the natural teeth, that may be an option, but FIRST consult a board certified dentist to evaluate. With implants (usually very costly) or partials, one does not have to have ALL their teeth pulled. This is barbaric, but not knowing the exact circumstances (we need more information about the teeth, age of person, disease of teeth, etc.). Just because a person is an "elder" does not mean they have to lose their teeth.

I have worked with the elderly and my own mother. You never pull teeth if they are not causing pain. She enjoys food. I don't know if she has any dementia. But, it is almost impossible to get them to sit still to do the impressions. If the teeth where pulled. She if it was possible to make dentures. Would not adapt to them so easily. The elderly take their dentures out and leave them on their food tray or they leave them under their pillow and the sheets are washed and the dentures melt in the dryer. Teeth on food trays get throw out. I took care of my mother at home. She often lost her teeth. I would find them in her bed, wrapped up in a napkin which she would be apt to throw out in the trash. I spent many days going through the trash and found her teeth. I can still remember the day we where sitting at the kitchen table. She took out her dentures and dropped them on the floor and broke them. The dentist told me he would be unable to make new ones. But, he sent them to the lab. They where able to fix them. You could not see where they broke. She was lucky. She spent a few more years enjoying her food. Then she lost a lot of weight. Again we where sitting at the kitchen table. She was eating and started to choke. I could see the teeth where too big. I quickly had to pull her dentures out of her mouth. I call the Dentist about relining them. He told me again no it would not be possible. I didn't give my mother puréed food. It doesn't taste good. Because all the juice was taking out of the food. She lived the rest of her life on a soft diet. You never remove teeth. Unless there is pain. Also, Medicare & Medicaid I don't remember which one will only pair for one set of dentures. You would be surprised how expensive denture are.

That's a touchy topic.I would say the sooner the better or not at all.
I have a Mother-law that we learned about a yr ago she has dementia.Her dementia got so bad that she stopped eating or moreless eats like a little bird.She lost too much weight the doctor said.It took a long time to get her eating under control.Required head meds and more head meds.Now she's eating more and building a little more weight.She lost so much weight we was affraid to lose her.Now we got her up to par.
Now her teeth are getting bad.Do we take the chance of getting her teeth pulled for dentures?Do we take the chance on her losing more weight again.We about lost her from the weight loss last time.Do we take the chance?NO!
Have you ever got dentures?If so,you know you can't eat good for a good month if not two.Causes weight loss.If it's a elderly person they don't need to lose weight they need to gain not lose.If their not in pain and have a few teeth to use to chew I see no reason for getting their teeth pulled.If si,just get uppers not lowers.

My 90 year old aunt had her top teeth pulled 8 years ago. She had dentures fitted immediately. Things worked out fine. Recently her bridges on the bottom were giving her problems and the oral surgeon discovered that she had a abscess in the tooth that held the bridge. He was a wonderful OS and discussed the options with us. She also had her bottom front teeth ground to the bottom. All her bottom teeth (7 left) we taken out in one visit. A week later she had her stitches removed. The OS said she would be able to eat fine on a ground diet without any teeth (denture) on the bottom. She is given appetite enhancers and for the time all is well.
Find the best Oral Surgeon you can find, and see what they suggest. It worked for us. Good luck!!!!

I live in India. When my father was 90, he had a toothache and had one extracted. The dentist advised that all his teeth be pulled out because elders run the risk of biting their tongues and nothing can be done about it then. Teeth also become sharper due to erosion. My father had all of them but two upper premolars extracted. He regretted consenting to it but we found the dentist's logic quite acceptable. sometimes there is no other way.