Hi everyone,
My Mom is still living with me as it is going to take time to place her in a MC facility. I am working on that with her Neurologist to hopefully place her without too much of a fight from her. I, in the meantime have a question. My Mom had all of her teeth extracted at the end of November (day after Thanksgiving) and has a set of temporary dentures that will not stay put, so she refuses to wear them. What is the best denture adhesive that will keep her teeth in place? It makes it really difficult with eating and I am really running out of things that she will eat or can handle eating. As you know from my previous post, my Mom is not an easy person to please or even get a long with and this just adds to the stress and tension. She is also more than likely going to end up hospitalized soon as she is still refusing to do anything that her doctors are recommending. Her bottom is breaking down as she refuses to get up out of the recliner and sits all day long, her COPD flare up's have increased as she refuses to wear her oxygen and her behavior has become erratic. She is also beginning to hallucinate again. To say my life is HELL right now is an understatement!!!!
Mom was 93 when she died unexpectedly in January, and you know what, I miss our daily routine, including putting on the Calmoseptine and pull-ups.
The problem with temp dentures is they are intentionally made large because all of the tissue is swollen after extraction and they fit them to that. So once the swelling is gone they are just to big.
Get her dentist to add a liner, this is the only way to stop the temporary plate from floating.
If you use denture paste and it isn't a complete cover, she will get food stuck between her mouth and the plate, depending on what food, that can be very painful.
Unfortunately, her brain is broken, so she may not be able to follow directions after the first 2 minutes. You will have to encourage her every two hours to get up and change position. Executive function is usually the 1st thing to go and this includes self care actions.
Have you watched any Teepa Snow videos on utube? This will help you understand what she is going through and how you can help her, without so much frustration.
Good luck with all you have going on. Hugs and prayers sent your way
Actually, the dentures would be my last on the list of things to deal with. First off is staving off bedsores from immobility. She gets s few of those and that's a huge thing. She'll be miserable.
I'd make a list of health issues that you're dealing with in order of the most important to the least. Deal with the big ones first and then the smaller ones as you see fit. I'd take a mirror and SHOW HER the beginnings of bedsores--they don't always hurt and maybe if she SAW them, she'd be more amenable to giving them care.
I have zero knowledge of dentures, other than that GOOD dentures don't require any adhesive to hold them in. The ones she has are temps and probably rub her gums and hurt all the time. Just give her soft and pureed foods and make sure she is adequately hydrated and nourished.
And yep, she needs to get up and walk as much as she can.
Most our elder LO's aren't just one problem..they are many and more keep coming at you. You're most assuredly not alone in this.
She will give you a ton of grief over the move to MC, but stand firm, OK? She needs this and you definitely do!