Teeth

[Kay111]

Hello lovely forum people, I feel like I'm just popping up asking questions and disappearing again and haven't had much time to see what's going on with the rest of you. Sorry about that, it's all been a bit intense recently.

My question for today is, do you have any tips/tricks to get your PwD to clean their teeth? Or, is there some miracle mouth wash that's swallowable? Dad will "clean his teeth" when instructed, but he just passes the toothbrush over his front teeth a couple of times. When you suggest he do the back ones he does it but starts chewing on the toothbrush, bless him. We can't do it for him or he will get aggressive.

Any advice gratefully received (as ever!).

x

 

[nitram]

Only tip I've got, which applies to everybody, is to not rinse the mouth after cleaning (= getting some paste on the teeth in case of a PWD). Tooth paste contain a bactericide which prevents against problems at the gum/tooth interface.

 

[charlie10]

I hope I don't come over as flippant but I can't brush my dog's teeth (he eats the toothpaste then clamps his mouth shut), so I put some special drops in his drinking water (to soften the plaque) and give him a carrot to chew on to scrape it off. Whether this is having the desired effect I'm not sure (the vet reckons it's worth doing) but I wondered if there might be something similar for humans.....special mouthwash maybe? Have you talked to the dentist? Maybe the dental profession has come up with some alternative.....it's not as if they'd be selling to a small market!!

 

[Lawson58]

I hope I don't come over as flippant but I can't brush my dog's teeth (he eats the toothpaste then clamps his mouth shut), so I put some special drops in his drinking water (to soften the plaque) and give him a carrot to chew on to scrape it off. Whether this is having the desired effect I'm not sure (the vet reckons it's worth doing) but I wondered if there might be something similar for humans.....special mouthwash maybe? Have you talked to the dentist? Maybe the dental profession has come up with some alternative.....it's not as if they'd be selling to a small market!!

I tried the mouthwash for my dog but it made her fart something awful.

Someone suggested sugarless chewing gum is helpful but if it has sorbitol in it, there may be some bowel issues as a result. Apples, carrots and celery are all supposed to work but that might not go down well.

 

[charlie10]

"I tried the mouthwash for my dog but it made her fart something awful." Hmmm that might explain something @lawson ....sometimes have to get the gas mask out

 

[marionq]

The dentist gave my husband a very high fluoride toothpaste on prescription. He was told to spit it out but not rinse as that would reduce the effect. If your husband did this the paste would carry on cleaning.

 

[Sirena]

My mother is reluctant to clean her teeth (she has lovely teeth, all her own). The carers found that telling her what to do just resulted in a blank look, so they mime to her what she needs to do. The toothpaste does get used so I assume it's reasonably successful. Could be worth trying?