Five Important Dental Hygiene Tips for Seniors
Did you know that October is National Dental Hygiene Month? This time of year is the perfect time to take a closer look at what issues your senior might be having around dental hygiene. Evaluating what’s working and what isn’t helps you to figure out what solutions you can put in place for her. Ignoring dental hygiene can create bigger problems than your senior might expect.
Aging Causes Lots of Changes in Dental Health
There are lots of changes your senior is facing as she grows older, and dental health is on that list. Your elderly family member may start to experience things like dry mouth, darkening teeth, or just regular wear and tear on her teeth that she’s not used to managing. Her dentist can help her to manage these issues and develop a plan for handling conditions that are new to her.
Hydration Is Crucial
When your elderly family member isn’t drinking enough water, that can contribute to a lot of different health issues. This even affects your aging family member’s dental hygiene and dental health. Keep water available and find creative ways to help your senior to get as much water as she needs. That might mean including hydrating foods, like gelatin, soup, and fruits or vegetables that are high in water content. 24-hour home care providers can be a huge help in keeping your senior properly hydrated.
Medication Side Effects Can Include Dental Symptoms
The medications that your elderly family member takes can have a variety of different side effects. Some of those side effects make keeping her mouth and teeth healthy a little more difficult. Some of those side effects are ones that you can mitigate with some new habits or at least knowing what is going on. Working with both your senior’s doctor and her dentist can help you put a plan together.
Health Issues Can Also Affect Dental Health
Your elderly family member may have health issues that impact her dental health. Diabetes, for instance, can cause blood sugar issues that lead to periodontal disease. Keeping blood sugar under control suddenly becomes something that also helps your elderly family member to maintain her dental health, too.
Your Senior May Need a Help from 24-Hour Home Care
Everyone needs a little bit of help now and then, and your elderly family member is no exception. Home care providers can assist with a variety of different situations, but your senior may start to need more personal help and at varying times. 24-hour home care providers are there to help your senior to manage those situations, including personal care tasks like dental hygiene and caring for her body in other ways. This is essential if your elderly family member is finding these tasks impossible to manage on her own.
Proper dental hygiene is so important for your elderly family member’s mental and physical well-being. Getting her the additional help that she needs for some of these tasks ensures that your senior is not left struggling on her own.
Source
https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/dental-care-seniors
If you or an aging loved one is considering 24-hour home care in Braselton, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.