Hello, I hope that I have posted in the correct thread. I've tried searching on this subject but could not find a related thread already in existence...
My mum has been in a care home for over two years, and over that time has progressed from good self care (including toothbrushing) to almost no self care. Bathing and hair care seem to be good, but mum refuses mouthcare and her mouth and teeth are getting into a poor state.
She is always offered (and accepts) sweet biscuits with tea for supper, and I would like to find a way of easily 'de-sugaring' / plaque inhibition especially last thing at night. I have searched supermarkets and pharmacies for something suitable, and also asked for advice from a pharmacist and a dentist. The 'best' advice I could obtain was to find a mouthwash, but it would need to be OK to swallow (as mum doesn't really follow instructions reliably, and is likely to swallow anything that looks like a drink).
I've found an aloe-based mouthwash in a 'health food' type store, and the bottle label has no instruction saying ' do not swallow', which most other mouthwashes seem to have ( even those labelled for children..possibly because they contain fluoride). I'm thinking of trying this for my mum, but before I do, does anyone have any better suggestions? Are there any 'chewable / dissolvable' mouthcare products out there (that she could happily suck like sweets?)? I know that some chewing gums help to clean and freshen the mouth, but I don't want my mum risking swallowing gum.....
Thank you for any suggestions....
My mum has been in a care home for over two years, and over that time has progressed from good self care (including toothbrushing) to almost no self care. Bathing and hair care seem to be good, but mum refuses mouthcare and her mouth and teeth are getting into a poor state.
She is always offered (and accepts) sweet biscuits with tea for supper, and I would like to find a way of easily 'de-sugaring' / plaque inhibition especially last thing at night. I have searched supermarkets and pharmacies for something suitable, and also asked for advice from a pharmacist and a dentist. The 'best' advice I could obtain was to find a mouthwash, but it would need to be OK to swallow (as mum doesn't really follow instructions reliably, and is likely to swallow anything that looks like a drink).
I've found an aloe-based mouthwash in a 'health food' type store, and the bottle label has no instruction saying ' do not swallow', which most other mouthwashes seem to have ( even those labelled for children..possibly because they contain fluoride). I'm thinking of trying this for my mum, but before I do, does anyone have any better suggestions? Are there any 'chewable / dissolvable' mouthcare products out there (that she could happily suck like sweets?)? I know that some chewing gums help to clean and freshen the mouth, but I don't want my mum risking swallowing gum.....
Thank you for any suggestions....