Dentists and Dementia

Dental treatment in dementia

Recently I got involved in research into what dental treatment people  want after a diagnosis of dementia, something I confess I had never considered 

Over the years I have had some terrible treatment from dentists, and ended up having teeth removed rather than having fillings, after which I completely lost faith in all dentists, as did my daughter who had the same problems.

However over the last few years I have had a couple of very good dentists, one of whom moved away, then our dentists practice closed down after the owner had a serious accident and broke his neck

It seems that a lot of dentists, seem to think that we are not worth bothering with, and that is very sad, because we should be able to choose what treatment we want or need, rather than some other person telling us what would be best for us

Before the lock down I was lucky to find a new brilliant dentist who really seems to care, and explains his  treatment at every step, something I have never had before.

My medical history and medications are all listed in his computer screen, which he always checks before the treatment starts.

This dentist looks at any possible problems, and then discusses possible solutions and costs face to face, while saying what he feels may be the best treatment because of my medical history which is logged down.

So just how do we decide what is best for us if we have a form of dementia. It’s my own personal view that we need to just get things done to make us comfortable.

Some people are needle phobic, and some like me struggle when people get close up, in front of my face.

I confess that I don’t want expensive treatment, and never have done, and this is always taken on board.

Recently I had to have a tooth removed as the fillings kept coming out, even though different types of fillings were tried.

As there was little left of the tooth due to bad treatment in the past it was decided to remove the tooth before it was too late.

During this process the dentist kept stopping to see if I needed a break and to see if I was alright, something I had never come across ever before. 

This is what I call real dental treatment to suit the person living with this illness, not a dentist who is out to get as much money out of us as possible 

Some have even tried to get me to have expensive crowns, when I simply don’t want them 

I believe that dentists should ask a patient for their thoughts before going ahead with expensive treatment.

 Ask rather than assume you know best