Can We Give You, Or Someone You Know, Any Extra Help?

24 / 05 / 2023

Can We Give You, Or Someone You Know, Any Extra Help?

As we get a little older (or as I like to think, “more vintage”) things can become trickier or take a little longer.

Looking after you teeth can fall into this category, in my job as a dental hygienist/dental therapist I see a fair portion of the ageing population, you might be reading this as an older person or perhaps a carer or someone that cares for others as a job, either way I hope the following helps…

Dental health is so important in the older population and as ever at Absolute Dental prevention is better than cure. Home care is so very important, we advised twice a day tooth brushing of the natural teeth with a fluoride toothpaste, along with interdental cleaning wherever possible, the removal and brushing of any dentures twice a day, soaking them in a denture solution (as directed on the packet) & ideally leaving these out at night time.

• Recently I asked an older patient if they felt they would benefit from extra assistance with cleaning their teeth? Yes was the answer, but they explained they felt too proud to ask for help.
• It may not always be the case that the person needs help brushing twice a day, they may, however, be tired in the evening or have aching joints aching or swelling that make evening brushing less of a thorough job!
• Or maybe just needing help cleaning dentures as it’s too fiddly for them or perhaps not being able to stand at the sink for long enough to do everything needed to maintain good oral health.

It is important that this is a joint decision with the person needing a little extra help and the helper! If it’s your teeth, make sure you are clear about what matters to you, if you have a tooth paste you like, or a preferred denture soaking tablet/solution let the people around you know.

If you ever feel you need extra help and your helper in unsure of how they can assist you, you can always bring them along to you hygienist appointment and Christina and I will be more than happy to help you both!

Rachael