Mom doesn't have her teeth in! What to do?
My three sisters and I like the nursing home Mom is in. The building is old, the rooms are small, but for the most part the care has been excellent. There are people who have been on staff a long time, and many whose aunt was there in her last years or who visited their neighbor here for years before they came to work here. There is a sense of continuity. And the social programs are creative and appropriate.
So we like it. Mom is content.
But five times in the past month Mom did not have her dentures in when we arrived. We visit at different times and we've made this discovery even late into the day, when she has had 2 meals already!
This is vacation time and there are probably a lot of staff switches. But shouldn't her daily cares be clearly written in her chart? Shouldn't an aide knew to her look at that list? And even if there isn't a list, when you see that someone has no teeth, shouldn't you look around and see if there are dentures soaking? (Mom has dementia and is of no help in reminding an aide.)
What would you do?
11 Answers
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I'm just brainstorming here...
Maybe she doesn't like the way they feel anymore and won't let anybody put them in. Or takes them out and loses them.
A mouth sore nobody has seen?
Fit has changed
A tiny crack or something that's hard to see but annoying in the mouth
Doesn't like any aftertaste from cleaners or the adhesive. That adhesive is gross, having used it on some Dracula fangs last Halloween.
Doesn't understand what they are or why people want to put them in her mouth.
Just doesn't want to do it anymore. May not be able to explain why.
If the plates are present, clean, intact, and available to her, I'm not sure what else to do.
You can also put up a sign in your mom's room where staff will see it. It could say something like:
"PLEASE MAKE SURE ___________ HAS HER DENTURES IN EACH MORNING. THE SMITH FAMILY THANKS YOU." And then draw a little smiley face.
This is what I would do.
I'm not familiar with nursing homes, but I think I might ask to talk with day supervisor. I would explain what you've seen and ask for why this might happen. Does she resist allowing someone to put them in? Does she take them out herself? Just see if they know why this is happening. And based on that ask them to come up with a plan to ensure that it doesn't continue to happen. Then I would make unannounced visits to ensure they were following through. I might follow up with a letter reminding them of the plan and how you hoped it would remedy the matter. If it continued, then I would take it higher up.
It might even be that your mother just took them out.
So I'd approach it on 2 levels:
1. Follow Sandwich's suggestions to determine if there are reasons other than the staff not putting them in; and
2. Casually discuss it with a staff level person first to see if you can work out a solution. If the staff, or someone at that level, isn't responsive, then start working up the chain of command.
But you probably know that if someone is reprimanded, that could affect the working relationship between her/him and your mother.
And I love the idea of a funny sign! Maybe you could find a copyright free photo of dentures, enlarge it and add something amusing such as "don't forget to put me in - I like Mom's mouth!"
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