Senior Dental Care – Reduce Heart Disease and Alzheimer’s Risk
Of many tasks that are involved in the care of seniors, keeping their mouth healthy is a crucial step.
This is because maintaining dental hygiene affects the senior’s overall physical health, nutrition, and well-being.
Having a healthy mouth means it is easier to eat, there is low risk of pain and inflammation, and less chance of being led to serious health conditions like heart disease, pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Therefore, it is important to take the right steps and work towards dental health for seniors. Here are 3 tips to help your senior’s dental care.
1. Use an electric toothbrush
Electric toothbrushes can be useful in many ways. With automated brushing, less hand strength and control are needed. Also, some toothbrushes feature built-in timers to help its user keep track with time. Hence, not only will it help a senior reach corners of their mouths and clean their teeth thoroughly, but also it will make the experience much easier, especially in cases of arthritis, hand tremors, or weak arm strength.
You can get electric toothbrushes at your local pharmacy or retailer. The price starts from as low as $15 and goes up to $50+ depending on the brand and functionalities.
2. Brush after meals
Having less saliva is a natural part of ageing and is common for seniors who experience medication side effects. Because of lack of fluid in the mouth, it is easy for food particles to be trapped between teeth, making bacteria breeding grounds.
It is therefore important to brush or rinse the mouth after each meal. Make it a routine to brush about 30-60 minutes after eating.
3. Rinse with salt water
Salt water has been proved to be effective in maintaining dental hygiene. Rinsing with salt water increases the pH balance of the mouth, making it more difficult for bacteria to grow. Also, it is less irritating to the mouth than a store-bought mouthwash, making it a safe, organic rinsing fluid.
So add a half teaspoon of salt to a cup of warm water, stir, and use it for rinsing the mouth.
Caring for your older adult can be difficult and Living Waters Aged Care is here to help.
If you would like to know what help and benefits are available for you and your senior, please contact us.
