8 Great Strategies to Get a Dementia Patient to Brush Their Teeth

One of the more difficult tasks in dementia care is getting a patient to brush their teeth. Here is how to do it.Dementia CareBy Rita A. JablonskiAlzheimer's Reading RoomMy team recently tested these dental care strategies for dementia patients in a pilot study funded by theBrookdale Foundation.We were able to provide thorough mouth care to persons with dementia who had reputations of fighting and biting during mouth care. If any of these techniques help just one caregiver, I have done my job.Topic -Learning How to Communicate in Alzheimer's World1. The first step is to use the environment to your advantage.The wiring in the brain changes with dementia. Think of memories as sidewalks. Some sidewalks never change. Other sidewalks become choked with weeds and crumble from tree routes.Using cues from the environment, you can sort of clear the brush and activate a memory path.2. The best place to do mouth care is in front of a sink.It can be the bathroom sink, but if the bathroom is too tight,the kitchen sink works, too. Ideally, have the elder stand in front of the sink. If standing is too difficult, a chair in front of the sink works.Have a mirror hanging at the elder ’s eye level.The mirror helps to reinforce self-care memories and provides additional cues.Topic -Care of Dementia Patients3. Changes in the brain associated with dementia result in the elder over-exaggerating potential threats in the environment.He or she may interpret a neutral facial expression as a negative ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: Alzheimer's Dementia Alzheimers Dementia alzheimers information and help dementia dental care health lifestyle mouth care Source Type: blogs