Dentist recommended all teeth be extracted

Irporter

According to my mother in laws dentist/oral surgeon, she needs to have all of her remaining teeth extracted due to the extent of decay. This is scheduled to happen in one appointment. I am worried because she does not remember this appointment is approaching, and it will likely seem very scary for her after it has happened if she is confused about why her teeth are gone. Has anyone else been through this?

trottingalong

how many teeth and is it absolutely imperative?

M1

welcome to the forum. If her dementia is advanced, her ability to acclimate to dentures will be very limited and you will probably have to puree all of her food.. I would only do it if she is in paIn. I said no to an extraction and crown when my partner was stage 4. She is now stage 6 and hasn't seen a dentist in over three years.

Irporter

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/207089#Comment_207089

She still has 19 teeth. She had two teeth pulled this winter a few months apart from each other, after they were causing her pain from infection. That is when the dentist said the rest of her teeth were headed that way, so she might as well have them all done. It just sounds scary for her, to not fully understand/remember why it is happening.

sandwichone123

If it's not causing problems right now, I wouldn't address it right now.

mommyandme (m&m)

Hi, welcome to the forum but so sorry for the struggle that brings you here.

I had to get my mom to an oral surgeon to pull a few teeth due to an abscess in one and two broken useless teeth. It was difficult of course and she screamed from fear while they were doing it. The staff was amazing! Not sure where your mom is in the disease, my mom was early stage 6, I believe. As far as further dental care after that, she had none. If your mom is not in pain, I wouldn’t do it.

After mom was bedbound I worried a bit about some pain because she chewed on baby teethers, or anything else, often. I started to look for a dentist/hygienist that did house calls, just to check for infection etc… There were a couple of options but never got a chance to check them out due to mom’s decline and death a couple of weeks later, not caused by her teeth.

If your mom is not in pain and her teeth are useful enough, I say don’t do it. I’d do only the minimal to keep her physically and mentally comfortable.