When to stop "other" medical treatments?

Judide65

My EO sister recently went to the dentist and needs 5 teeth pulled. She is progressing rather quickly. Her dentist suggested dentures. Can she really handle that? When is it ok to say stop? She won't know how to care for them, much less to use them. Thoughts?

Jeanne C.

I'm curious about this one, too and eager to hear the advice you receive. We have the same exact situation. For most things I'm following the rule of thumb that if it's causing pain or can be handled without too much risk and will improve his quality of life, we do it. Otherwise, we let it go. I'm not sure what to do with dental treatments. He should have dentures but at stage 6 can he use them?

terei

Dentures for PWD always end with major issues. Cleaning, losing, breaking. I would never consider them. They are just one more complication for anyone involved when you dont need any more problems

JDancer

I have similar concerns for my DH. He struggled the last time he needed a filling. The dentist told me, privately, they didn't think he could tolerate additional dental treatments.

michiganpat

My sister who is in a nursing home kept taking her dentures out. They eventually got lost. Same with her eye glasses. CNA's say residents pick each others up and either wear, lose or hide them. I've given up on dentures and glasses. She doesn't miss them.

harshedbuzz

This is dependent very dependent on where the PWD is-- both in terms of living and stage of progression.

Since dad was used to dentures, he was quite compliant around them mostly being in his mouth and he worse them until he died. We worried about them disappearing in the MCF but it never happened. Hearing aides and slippers were another story. He did hide them at home a couple of times, but we were able to find them.

My friend's mom was a longtime user who also wore them fairly late into the disease progression. My friend oversaw the care after about stage 5 as part of the bedtime routine after that night mom got confused and dropped her hearing aids in the denture bath. In stage 6 her mom developed a tic where she constantly clicked her plate with her tongue which was really hard to live with.

If your sister is at or nearing stage 6, I might see how she does without them. She may be past the point where she can adjust to the sensation of something new in her mouth and there is the risk of them going missing- hidden for safekeeping or thrown out because she doesn't recognize them as her.

HB

ButterflyWings

Dentures aside, at 6E, I don't think my DH could or would tolerate having 5 teeth pulled. If he got through the procedure, I can't imagine the gauze packs etc. if that's required. Anything in his mouth is eaten and chewed endlessly these days, even with several missing teeth - and then swallowed. (A piece of paper towel, he's tried a small wooden checker, etc.) And following instructions like "spit it out", "rinse", "gargle", etc. is hit or miss (mostly miss, these days).

He's refused routine dental care since early stage 4. And, does the anesthesia required for an emergency dental procedure impact cognition permanently? I agree with what most seem to be posting here. Dentures are not a good option for us but my focus is on the oral surgery aspect, and it is not supported by Medicare nor the VA and would likely be tough to get through or heal from. Like Jeanne C., I'm keeping my fingers crossed this doesn't become a problem for us.