do I save my mom's teeth?

Of all the stuff you have to deal with when you care for some someone with Alzheimer's, power of attorney, socializing, prescriptions, forms, taxes, family (or lack of) real estate issues, photos, personal items, dietary, medical, activities, the list is honestly endless, I never once thought about having to choose to save my mother's teeth....

But here we are.  

When I came back in December after a three month stay in Mongolia with Kyle, I noticed my mom's teeth were covered in gunk. When I began to brush them off with a toothbrush her gums immediately started to bleed.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what that means, or where it might lead. 

If you knew my mom, you would know this would never have been acceptable to her (in fact she would be mortified to have dirty teeth). She took excellent care of them and great pride in them. She always had two cleanings a year and floss nearby because, truthfully, she had a little bit of OCD, and 'flossing' was one of her 'obsessions'. Suffice it to say - her teeth were clean.  

I have nothing but praise for the facilities in which she resides/d. There isn't a single instance that has made me (or anyone who has visited) feel uneasy. In fact I am in constant awe of how WELL my mother and the other peeps (my word for the other residents) are looked after, and cared for. The standards (in my experience), of both the facilities and the care aides/nurses have been superb.  

But oral care is not a top priority and I can't really blame them. They have enough on their plates with getting everyone up, dressed, cleaned, fed, toileted, fed again, active, medicated, fed again, undressed and into bed. Who has time for brushing teeth? And frankly, most residents have dentures. 

So I asked the nurse, what should my expectations be? Is it okay for her to lose her teeth? What is easier for the care aides - dentures or her real teeth? The nurse said it would be best if we could keep her real teeth as people with Alzheimer's/Dementia tend to lose their dentures, and it makes it hard to feed them. Thank god because I did not want my mother to lose her teeth. 

When I spoke with the head of the Special Care Unit (SCU) my mom's special section which requires a code to enter/exit. She told me oral care in long-term facilities is a provincial wide issue. So-much-so that in the past UBC (University of British Columbia) had "programs" targeting oral care in long term facilities (I wish they were still around). 

The head of the SPU and I made a deal. I would brush and floss my mom's teeth when I came to visit, and make a poster of instructions to be hung on the wall in her bathroom for the care aids. I would also provide the toothbrushes and Listerine (needs less water than toothpaste). She would ask her staff to take a extra few minutes (two times a day) to brush them. Not an entirely bad deal for improving my mom's oral hygiene. 

It's been a few months, her teeth look good - not perfect. But they look much better than before.  

The photo is of the poster I made. A few weeks later she ripped it off the wall and piled it up on the floor with the rest of her things. Another one of her futile attempts to pack and 'go home'.  

Well, you can only try right?