My mom is 83, has severe dementia. She is very combative and non compliant to most of what I ask of her. I try to get her to sleep on her side, but sometimes she lays down on her back and nothing gets through to her. She has upper dentures and when she sleeps on her back, her mouth falls open and she snores a little and I'm afraid her denture might fall into the back of her mouth and block her airway. But asking her to give me her denture, or asking her to let me take it out is one more battle I don't want to fight if choking is not actually an issue to worry about. Thanks for your input.
her bottom partial around in her mouth the last time we brushed, so I may have to get
some for her bottoms as well. Seems like each day brings a new challenge around
our house, as I'm sure it does in all of us caregivers dealing with dementia. It is a sad thing to deal with especially with our loved ones.
My Mom chews now also even without food in her mouth, I puree all her foods except french toast and waffles with syrup, she loves them so much she opens right up for them, lol.
pneumonia she hasn't been eating and they have become very loose. She can actually turn them around in her mouth. I cut a piece of the Sea Bond for uppers in the shape of her partial and moisten it and it usually holds really good until we take them out to brush. It might put your mind a ease a little better that they wouldn't fall down while she is sleeping. Does she chew on her dentures? Mom's mouth is constantly chewing on her teeth. She chews them but not her food! Right now where she has been sick, she is only drinking liquids and puddings. Hope this helps. My best to you!
You will want to talk to you mother's dentist about this further to better determine the choking risk for her and help consider what can be done to mitigate that risk if you are unable to convince your mother to take her dentures off before going to bed, but the safest scenario is for dentures to be removed prior to bed.
Hope this helps. If you have further questions about this topic or others, feel free to contact me directly (click on my profile for details).
Best wishes,
Vik Rajan, M.D.
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