Best sedation for dentistry for my Dad

[missmarple]

Hello all and I am back with a new quandary. Dad is having dental pain. This happened 18 months ago and in the event the bad tooth fell out by the time I had found him an NHS dentist in his town. Now it seems there is another bad tooth and the pain is not going away and is interfering with his eating. I know there is no way he will let a dentist near his mouth with a syringe and needle (it is hard enough for him to tolerate the chiropodist). The GP prescribed penicillin but obviously it's not working. The next step is the dentist. The GP prescribed Lorazepam in case it came to it. I am very worried about him being lastingly affected by a sedative. Ie that his cognitive deficit will be made worse.
Does anyone have any experience of sedation in dementia, or any advice? Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Kathphlox]

The thought of this actually scares me to death.. The only way I would agree to this is if the patient was totally out of it.

My knee jerk reaction, but I could be wrong.

 

[keywest67]

Hi, I know my Dad was given Lorazepam at times when he became very agitated and it does help, it would in my opinion be fine to use for circumstances you are addressing, sedation is generally avoided where possible in dementia because it can cause drowsiness and the patient is more prone to falls and other such accidents so it's not a long term solution but should be used in moderation to help through challenging situations, wishing you the best of luck, your Dad is obviously in pain and toothache is awful to have so I hope it gets sorted out soon x

 

[halojones]

It is such an awful dilema, isn't it..?Mum has flu at the moment, and I have been in such a quandary, I made a docs appointment(I did also speak to thedoc), but mum would not go, I could not get her to get dressed, and if I had insisted I take her, she would have been upset and thedoc can't give us anything for the flu anyway ,so I am just worrying, worrying...I am now worried that this flu will cause mum to deteriorate..Whatever we do, its a problem, a big worry...But your dad does need the dental care, so it seems you don't have much choice, and hopefully he will be fine..Good luck xxx

 

[stanleypj]

Hello all and I am back with a new quandary. Dad is having dental pain. This happened 18 months ago and in the event the bad tooth fell out by the time I had found him an NHS dentist in his town. Now it seems there is another bad tooth and the pain is not going away and is interfering with his eating. I know there is no way he will let a dentist near his mouth with a syringe and needle (it is hard enough for him to tolerate the chiropodist). The GP prescribed penicillin but obviously it's not working. The next step is the dentist. The GP prescribed Lorazepam in case it came to it. I am very worried about him being lastingly affected by a sedative. Ie that his cognitive deficit will be made worse.
Does anyone have any experience of sedation in dementia, or any advice? Thanks a lot in advance.

This is obviously a very difficult dilemma. Perhaps it would be possible to raise the issues with the dentist before any appointment for treatment? Some kind of short-term sedation is very unlikely to have any permanent effect isn't it? It's possible that this tooth may be close to falling out like the other one and the dentist may be able to remove it quite easily.

I hope you manage to get some specialist advice.

 

[Witzend]

This is obviously a very difficult dilemma. Perhaps it would be possible to raise the issues with the dentist before any appointment for treatment? Some kind of short-term sedation is very unlikely to have any permanent effect isn't it? It's possible that this tooth may be close to falling out like the other one and the dentist may be able to remove it quite easily.

I hope you manage to get some specialist advice.

I think I would most definitely explain the situation to the dentist beforehand. And if you have to leave a message with a receptionist, impress on them on them that it is extremely important that this information is passed on.

 

[ASH74]

Depending on where you live there might be a Community dental service that deals with these sorts of issues in our area they will also do home visits ....might be worth a try.


Sent from my iPhone using Talking Point