My father hasn't taken care of his teeth. As a result they are breaking and chipping. Does anyone have experience with having their loved ones have to get false teeth? Are there any dental plans that cover at least a portion of the cost? Any idea on ballpark costs? We are in the Dallas, Texas area.
1) Having all the remaining teeth extracted. Alternatively, keeping some teeth and having implants or bridging between them. All of this means a long time with your mouth open in a dentists’ chair, probably many times, and at least some unavoidable pain. Some people don’t cope well, even when sedated.
2) Going without any teeth for a couple of weeks to give the gums time to heal and adjust, while you look like a parrot and feel dreadful.
3) Difficulty keeping the dentures in place, and/or discomfort. The top ones are hard to keep up. People often don’t like to wear them and take them out.
4) Losing them. Take them out overnight, wrap them in a tissue, and they end up in the bin by mistake. Or in the washing machine and dryer, and they don't cope well. Do you start again? How many times?
5) Needing new ones when your gums shrink, with age or through continuing to adjust after the teeth go. More trips to the dentist, more time with your mouth open while they take molds of your gums.
6) Difficult habits. My FIL used to push his upper set in and just out of his mouth repeatedly, and it looked dreadful.
7) Kicking yourself when the move to pureed food seems to start just as MIL has finally got used to them.
8) $$$. My husband’s last set cost $1000 and he didn’t like them as much as the old ones. My dental work for one implant was over $1000, and I’d never bother again. The medical insurance covered some, but not that much. Thankfully we didn’t exceed the maximum claim in a year, or we would have paid much more. Extractions plus dentures would probably have been over the limit.
It might still be worth it. My husband had a lousy set of teeth (his mother fed him a solid sugar diet), all extracted in his early 20s. A set of dentures lasts him about 20 years, and he is quite satisfied to have them. But it might be very difficult to go through the process with an older person with dementia. Think about it carefully. Best wishes, Margaret
You might check with Medicaid. (not Medicare) In my state they do cover certain costs for dental care.
I asked him a week or so ago if he had considered dentures or a partial, he seemed surprised at the suggestion and said no. I am not going to pursue it.
Dad does not have dementia.