My husband can still brush his own teeth and he uses the tool to get rid of tartar. He balks at flossing once in a while. I did read about an effective rinse that stops the development of tartar. Is it okay to name the product here?
Our problem is the dentist. We waited for her in the treatment room for 20 minutes. My husband was livid. As his Alzheimer progresses, he's more and more focused on time.
Every minute he asked me where she was, how long did we have to wait and could we leave. I managed to talk him down. It was tiring and I was annoyed with her too, ready to leave when she breezed in.
He tolerated her cleaning his teeth with the pick for five minutes.
I told her the long wait didn't help, and she said my husband's the same whether shge keeps us waiting or not.
She told me how she wanted him to acclimate to the room and get comfortable which is why she kept us waiting so long. What??? Who gets comfortable in a dentist's chair, waiting for treatment?
She basically told me she's traumatized by my husband, that he's said inappropriate things to her.
I'm always there - he's abrupt sometimes and rude, but has never sworn at her.
He's over 80, and doesn't do well with women dentists. Maybe his deep-seated chauvinism is coming out since he's lost his filter.
I can ask to switch to our dentist's husband, who she's in practice with, but I fear the waiting time will be the same with him. (She once kept me waiting for an hour).
I can try and switch to a new practice.
Yesterday I got some leads on a good practice at our Alzheimer's Association Caregiver's Support Group.
The coordinator identified the need for training medical/dental professionals.
What experiences have you had with dentists and their sensitivity to patients with dementia, or lack of it?
Thanks!