My mother is 89. She has a host of health issues. The dentist wants a lot of money to deal with all her lower teeth. Not only is there the financial factor but I don't know how well she can handle all the treatment. Last week she didn't feel up to going to a check up with the eye doctor. I fear dentures possibly being lost from stories here. He wants to do more permanent work. I just don't know what approach to take with this matter.
Dentist wanted to pull all my mom’s teeth at age 86 and have her fitted for dentures. There was no infection or problem at the time other than one broken , jagged tooth. I found her old dentist and he simply ground off the sharp edges on the one tooth. Took 5 minutes.
Mom died just a few months later. I’m so relieved I didn’t put her through all those horrible procedures.
My mom had about 8 decayed lower teeth and developed an infection. She got them pulled out in 2 visits to a dentist.
I definitely understand your dilemma.
Implants imo are excessive at this point. They may not be able to do implants if mom has no bone tough enough to withstand the implant screw.
I have cousins she is close with who might possibly fault me as they did when I had her placed in AL but they only talk to her and don't see the slow decline. It would be a big hit financially as we are doing our best to preserve money for when her LTC policy expires later this year. But beyond that I truly believe anesthesia and all the appointments would be very physically overwhelming for her. Anyway I do appreciate hearing from all of you.
I signed mother up for the mobile dentist that comes to her Memory Care ALF. Right away they came out without letting me know, took a ton of xrays, and put together a treatment plan that looked like a roadmap for a new highway system, and at a similar cost. They sent me a bill for $400 for the check up, the xrays and the treatment plan.
I called their office number right away, told the gal there must have been a misunderstanding. I did not agree to mother having a check up or xrays, nor was I informed of an upcoming visit. Had I been informed, I would have nixed the visit and saved everyone the aggravation. She removed the charges, I thanked her, and that was that. I went on to let her know I'd be in touch when and if mother has an issue and needed a tooth pulled. That would be the ONLY reason for their visit, because at 93 and with a fear and hatred of sharp instruments, drills and pain of any kind, we'd only be using this service in case of an emergency.
The mobile dentist charges about $100 a pop for pulling a tooth, plus a trip fee, DEAL.
And that's how I'm treating mother's dental issues, if and when they arise. On an as needed basis with no extra torture of any kind. It's a miracle she has ANY teeth left at 93, that's how I look at it.
When mthr was diagnosed with 5th stage Alzheimer's, we asked the owner of her memory care about her dental needs. She was going in for surgery to remove a cancer blocking her colon and the surgeon said she would lose hair and possibly teeth because of her fragility. The owner has a doctorate of nursing with geriatric certificate; she said the staff would make sure she brushed and rinsed, but in my shoes, she would not do anything with her teeth unless there was an obvious infection or she had pain. Mthr was not expected to live more than a year or two.
Mthr has lived 8 years, lost several teeth, but faculty doc says that she has no foul smells and everything healed ok. I know it would have been traumatic to take her to a dentist as much as she hated them when she was younger. I know my lack of concern may ruffle feathers, but people have been living without a few teeth for eons.
Last time we went it was so embarrassing because his old dentures were corroded black on plate from lack of soaking and brushing. I can't lead a horse to water, just suggest with the efferdent and glass sitting out.
She definitely should be checked and ok'd by dr. for any dental work/surgery, like pulling teeth. It's not unheard of for people to have dental surgery that caused other physical problems.
I like talking to her doctor. Actually the dentist should consult with her doctor getting a complete health background. Early stages of gum desease just need a special cleaning but later the gum has to be cut open and the bone scraped to get rid of deseased bone. I had it done at 34 four different times. Not sure if I would do it at 89.
Dentist are all for saving a tooth. Especially if there is insurance involved.
Dad is almost 91. he started to lose teeth around age 85/86, they were either falling out or breaking apart leaving some of the tooth in his gums.
Dad does not have dementia. He has no interest in getting dentures. He still has some teeth, but is missing many. Including front teeth, so he now has a snaggle toothed smile, He does not care.
Dad still prepares his meals and mostly eats canned or frozen goods that are easy to gum/chew with few teeth.
I did strongly encourage Dad to go to the dentist about 4 years ago. He had several of the tooth roots removed from his gums and at the time he had a couple mild abscesses which were treated. I do not think he has been back to the dentist since then.
So our family has accepted Dad's choices and do not stress about his teeth.
Dad does get regular medical check ups.
So going by our experience with Dad, I would only have the dentist deal with any potential infection in her mouth, but not worry about any missing or loose teeth. Dentures are a luxury item that are available to a very small percentage of the worlds population. They are not a necessity.
Getting dentures will also require removing the teeth and she must have good bone health underneath in order to be able to support the dentures and keep them in place. If dental issues are not addressed, it can lead to a bone and then systemic infection that can go to her heart. For the reasons above I have decided to replace any teeth with implants so that this never becomes an issue for my family to deal with.
My 90-yr old mom had a root canal earlier this year. They gave her clindamycin antibiotic as is routine. Well, it does not play well with elders and caused significant swelling of her feet and ankles. It took months for the swelling to subside but her legs did eventually go back to normal. The doctor figured this out after all other causes were discounted and we read that this was a known side-effect. Also, you must be wary of anesthesia and the elderly.
In the end no one can give you a clear "right decision" or "wrong decision" answer. You may want to consult her physician to see if she's even physically up for the rigors of dental work. If you do go the denture route make sure you know what can be done if she loses them (or hides them or throws them out). They require hygiene care so also consider this. And, if she has any dementia this may also be a factor in her ability to cooperate in a dental chair for long stretches of time. You may find that you need to choose the "better" of bad options. Others will soon post their knowledge and wisdom on this matter so I'm hoping this will make your choices more clear. Blessings!