Mitzi always took great care of her teeth. And the rest of her body, for that matter. As I’ve always said, she’s the poster child for who shouldn’t get Alzheimer’s. Her body was in great health, she worked out all the time, didn’t have any vices (except ice cream, as she would always proudly admit), got plenty of rest, and kept her stress levels lower with her great faith.
There have been some studies looking at the link between gum disease and the plaque in the brain being at the root of Alzheimer’s Disease. I only offer that as being an interesting point. Since even the doctors could never really point to a definitive cause for Mitzi developing Alzheimer’s in her late 40s and early 50s, I would never use this as a forum to try and speculate on what causes this disease. However, if it does turn out to be gum disease as the culprit, then Mitzi would certainly be an anomaly.
After taking Mitzi to the dentist regularly for the past 3 years, I can say for certain that oral hygiene is really important to her. So we do our best to make sure we brush her teeth thoroughly twice a day. Back in the early Spring, we quit using toothpaste because she was accidentally starting to swallow it and was having trouble spitting and rinsing out her mouth. So we switched to using mouthwash on her toothbrush. Sometimes we have to change locations to divert her attention off of the brushing when she’s not up for it. We also switch “home hygienists” between her husband, myself, and even her sister to keep it interesting for her. If she’s really opposed to it, we just skip it for a while and wait a bit; with Alzheimer’s, a person’s mood can change almost instantly. As her husband will say, some things just aren’t worth getting her upset at that moment.
It is vital to keep her mouth clean and free from debris…especially now that she is beginning to show signs of pocketing small amounts of her food in her cheeks. In the late stage of the disease, it becomes increasingly common for a person to forget to swallow all of their food. That’s why you have to be vigilant during meals to make sure they are swallowing often and that you are giving frequent sips of liquids. The greatest risk is that a person will rest after eating and leftover food will fall down the throat and get into the lungs, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia. Eventually, when you can no longer use a toothbrush, the best things to use are mouth swabs to keep things clean and free of food particles.
She’s always had a beautiful smile and even in this phase of the valley of Alzheimer’s, when Mitzi’s smile appears, it lights up the room…????
