He gets good nutritional meals and eats well. But his many strokes have left him mentally incapacitated with vascular dementia and brain damage. Because he doesn't understand a lot of what's going on, he refuses to let anyone brush his teeth. I'm there almost every day to help him with his lunch, so I'm fully aware of the quality care he's receiving. He's never had a problem with his teeth in the past. I've called his dentist and set up an apt but they can't get him in for over a month (they've got us on a waiting list for a possible cancellation). In the meantime, I'm in a panic as to why this is happening. Has anyone experienced this? The only medication he currently takes is Roxanol for pain. He was previously on a lot of other meds but taken off because he was refusing to take any of them. He was on Hospice for 16 months but has stabilized and improved so Hospice released him. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and still eats. But 4 teeth in a week?! Help!
Best in getting to the bottom of this matter!!
Hap
I took him to see his dentist and while examining his mouth, he found a tumor on the underside of Dad's tongue. So I took him to see a specialist. We are going in for day surgery to have the tumor removed, the rest of his loose teeth removed and we also discovered another Squamish cell carcinoma on the base of his left ear. All of this will be taken care of at the same time. Then the dentist is going to build a bridge to replace the lost teeth. I think Dad's mouth will be in better shape than before. I worked it out with Medicaid on how to pay for his dental work so I have that taken care of too. There definitely was a silver lining to this cloud. If his teeth hadn't fallen out, we wouldn't have discovered the tumor! Thanks to everyone who offered advice and support! Karen