MIL will not take out her dentures for cleaning. Any suggestions?

My mother with dementia sometimes gives me hard time letting me take out her denture to clean too. Sometimes tries to bite my hand. But I hold down her other hand & just take them out to soak. I bought sponge gum brushes that are minty & she actually likes them. They feel good on her gums. Make it a routine the same time & don’t take no for an answer…If after trying this & she still won’t let you take her denture out, Id just leave them out & give purée food & milkshakes. I hope it works. Hugs 🤗

theoguins: Perhaps she needs to see her dentist for a refit of the dentures and overall dental health.

You do not mention if she has any mentally medical condition which alters her mind. I can tell you though that all dentures, full or partial needs to be taken out every night. If left in they can damage the gums and bone structure. I read on here someone else took their mother's or MIL's dentures and threw them away and not pursuing new ones! Shame on you! That is senior abuse! I would hate my child if they treated me this way! Don't forget that one day you will be judged on your behavior on earth and hopefully you will be going up instead of down...Good Luck with that!

I had this problem with me husband. Sometimes if I modeled the action of removing them he would do the same and remove them. As his dementia progressed that became less and less useful. At some point after he went for nearly a week without removing them I got them out first thing one morning before he was awake. This woke him up, not happily, and I never gave them back to him. He ate just fine without them. I also got small mouthwash papers for him. They just dissolve on the tongue. He liked those.

Chloraseptic spray works like baby Orajel numbing the gums. You can spray that in her mouth.

I too had that problem and I started adding salt to the toothpaste to help heal the gums. It does work I use it on myself in fact. I just had a little toothpick shaker and I would sprinkle some on the toothpaste before putting it in her mouth. No she didn’t like it! Lol but that didn’t matter I was trying to help her.

Don’t give up. Keep reminding her how gross her mouth tastes, how yucky food will start tasting, just whatever you can to try to penetrate that stubbornness. eventually she’ll get tire The fighting and you will be persistent in never giving up.

Such are the joys of a caregiver! Hugs!

Her gums (likely) may be infected, not just sore.
* How old is she?
* Is there a dementia diagnosis? what?
* Could she be medicated to be calm / sedated enough so you / someone could take them out?
* Not much information is provided - is she in memory care? assisted living? Independent living? temporarily? does she live at home?
* Put on a white coat (or someone else) and go in there introducing her to 'her dentist' - the professional demeanor may ... shift her resistance, thinking she is interacting with a professional.

If all this fails, resign yourself to what is. While not in any way an optimal situation, sometimes can can't do everything in the best interest of our loved one. We do what we can.

Gena / Touch Matters

My Momma refuses to wear her lowers and I have to ask several times for her uppers. Luckily my mom loves Donut dunkers so I bribe her with them. If I get them every other day to clean them I call it a victory. Good luck.

My MIL finally took them out…solid green🤢 By the way there has been no way of sterling them. Plop, into garbage. Not persuing new set. Too dang much effort.

If you took her to the dentist or better yet found one that would come to her, do you think she would remember to let them into her mouth? Then they could take them out to clean them and inspect her gums and perhaps “train” her on how to do it. I put train in quotations because training someone with dementia isn’t possible most of the time but reminding her under the guise of training might help her start doing it again.

Brings back memories of my husband patiently repeating to his mother“Mom give me your teeth.” “Mom, please give me your teeth.” Me, on hands and knees, searching under the bed for my mother’ lower denture while they hid safely nestled in my mother’s mouth. Sigh. SMH.

Unfortunately, my mother is the same way. I haven’t found a solution. I will say the doctor can prescribe a spray to help with the pain. Also, you may try to see if there is a rinse like a mouthwash.

I’m going through this now with my Dad. His gums do have sores. I’ve left notes for the CNAs to make sure they are removed at night but I think he’s fighting them on that. Yesterday I told the CNAs I’m taking his teeth home until his gums heal. Asked for softer food for awhile. I left him a note that I have them and why. As a kid I remember my Dad always saying how important it is to TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH! Now I know why!

Will she let you look at her mouth at all if you say you want to see if it's sore? If she will open and say ahh you should be able to just grab her front teeth and lever the denture down off her palate (breaking the suction) and out in one smooth motion. The lowers might be easier to remove once the uppers are gone, if you run your finger along her cheek (tell her you are checking for sore spots) you should be able to feel the clips and push it up without being bitten. Good luck!

There are dentists that offer sedation, sometimes an iffy idea for someone with dementia, but this needs to be figured out, especially the pain part. Call a few dentists and see if one can offer help

Does she take them out at any time? I was under the impression that the adhesive used to keep them in place does not last forever.
I would think sleeping with them in might be dangerous. If they came loose they might be aspirated (a partial) or block the airway (full or partial)
Will she allow the CNA to brush her teeth? If so that might be a way to get her to allow cleaning. Sometimes CNA's can get patients to do things no one else can.