DH will not brush his teeth

Abby627 · October 24

I’m having a terrible time getting my DH to brush his teeth and am desperate for suggestions. Have others had the same issues? His last dental exam and cleaning showed 2 cavities and I fear more are to come. This aversion to brushing has been developing for quite awhile now.

fesk · October 24

Is it general resistance? Does he resist other self care tasks? Perhaps he is having some kind of pain? Instead of a toothbrush, can you get those dental swabs that are soft? Toothpaste can be put on those. Would he allow you to brush his teeth? Maybe he is having difficulty with the task in general. I'm sure others will have ideas too.

Chris20cm · October 24

I hope some great ideas are offered in response to your post. Showering and shampooing and general hygiene have been constant issues for DW, now nearly ten years after the diagnosis.

Dental issues are most concerning right now, but we have made some headway in the bathing and showering. I believe she is in mid stage six.

Sweetwater · October 24

You might try brushing your teeth together with him. Worked for me for a while.

H1235 · October 25

My mom is stage 4 and doing fairly well with personal hygiene. She told me the other day that her mouthwash was too strong. I bought her something more mild. I know mouthwash is much stronger than toothpaste, but I wonder if his aversion to brushing could be related to the strong mint flavor. Have you tried something more gentle (a kid toothpaste). Maybe it’s a sensory kind of thing. Might be worth a try.

annie51 · October 25

My first post on this site 3 years ago was about this very topic! Some of the things that worked for me:
- I began putting toothpaste on both our brushes, hand him his brush and say “time for teeth”, then start brushing mine. Very often he would brush his beside me.
- I kept 2 sets of toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash - one in the kitchen and one in our bathroom, so I could try this technique both in the morning after breakfast and then before bed.
- I switched to a milder mouthwash - Listerine Total Care Alcohol Free, as recommended by his hygienist. They also recommended trying to get him to rinse once a day with Periomed, instead of mouthwash. This has stannous fluoride which they said would be better. If I couldn’t get him to do one, I tried the other. Periomed can be purchased through Amazon (they also sell it at the dentist office).
- If he refused to brush I’d try to get him to rinse. If he wouldn’t do that either, I just let it go. I was really happy if he would do it once a day, but most often it was every couple of days.
- I began scheduling more frequent cleanings at three month intervals instead of six.

This worked pretty well for me. I hope you can use some of the tips you’ve gotten from everyone. It’s a VERY common problem.

Here’s a link for the Periomed if you’re interested.

https://a.co/d/08GVYYmt

Abby627 · October 25

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I have tried most of them already but will keep trying. Last night I ordered the swabs from Amazon. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope they work…..until they don’t. My prayers go out to all of you asking God to help us all through these trying times.

annie51 · October 25

I also got some Spry gum - supposedly good for oral health. I gave him those on days he wouldn’t brush.

Abby627 · October 25

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/284893#Comment_284893

I’ve never heard of it and will definitely give it a try. Thank you!

Cardenas1816 · October 26

I got my husband Auto Brush. It’s a mouthpiece shaped sonic toothbrush that he just has to lightly bite down on for 30 seconds. Makes it pretty easy for me to get his teeth clean.

Abby627 · 11:18PM

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/284967#Comment_284967

I’ve never heard of it! Thank you! Actually, the last couple of days he’s been brushing without any arguement. Go figure!

DH will not brush his teeth

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