My mom takes her teeth out in the middle of the afternoon and puts them in random places. Would a sign telling her not to do that help?

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My mom takes her teeth out in the middle of the afternoon and puts them in random places. Would a sign telling her not to do that help?

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She puts them in random places sometimes like puzzles boxes or wrapped up in tissues. Yuck! I wondered about putting a sign telling her Don’t take your teeth out. Has anyone tried reminders using signs? Do they help?

Alzheimer's & Dementia Dementia Behaviors Family Caregiver Mom

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Nope.

“That sign applies to me.”

”That sign applies to right now.”

Both of these are brain processes that don’t apply to my mother any longer.

Also, peripheral vision changes.

My mother doesn’t even see a lot of the notes she still writes to herself.

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My Mom had peripheral vision problems with her left eye. She kept going off to the left when she walked.

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It won't make a difference. Her mind does not work logically anymore. Reminders can be for gotten in seconds. First things to go is short-term memory. The ability to reason and comprehend and process what is being said. The less words used the better.

When my Mom was in the hospital I asked that no one talk to her about her care because she would not understand what she was saying. When I went to visit, I found 2 student nurses telling Mom about a test she was to be given. I could tell from Moms face they lost her after the first word. And told them that. She could no longer process what was being said to her.

There is no rhyme or reason to Dementia. You will never get ahead of it.

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Most likely, nothing will help but you could try taking her to the bathroom to brush them after lunch. She may have been taking them out for years in the afternoon. Perhaps get her a nice reservoir to soak them in.
If it’s new activity, they may be bothering her and she simply takes them out to be more comfortable.

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Putting up signs may give you temporary relief because at least you'll have tried. It will not make a ha'p'orth of difference to what your mother does with her teeth.

You could give her a pretty pot to put her teeth in. If it's attractive and easy for her to reach she might mostly/occasionally/once put her denture(s) in it. It isn't really the yuk factor that matters so much as the risk of her dentures getting thrown out with the garbage.

Has anyone checked her mouth to see if anything is making the denture uncomfortable? A good rinse after meals and snacks might be helpful, too.

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Of course it will work... but you'll have to put up another sign asking her to read it, and another sign to...
My dad loves to leave the tap running - I put a big red sign right above saying "TURN OFF". Absolutely pointless!
A friend in the industry recalled an attempt to make light switches clearer by making them red against the white walls. No one even touched them because they thought they were alarms!
The best solution I have found is similar to dealing with autism: have a routine which is rehearsed and followed to the minutest detail - avoid any reasoning as to the efficacy since that will only complicate matters. Once/if embedded, the process should run without any conscious input (and not because it registers beyond B follows A). The aim is not to gain functional awareness but just to make your task a little easier (reducing the variables).
This has proven useful for toileting routines also, but still expect some gremlins.

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My mom is a compulsive list maker to which, once she's written down the salient info, she promptly loses the list, or 'reminder'. Now she has 2 problems. What was the original 'thought/need' and where did she put the paper to remind her? Her kitchen table is covered ( and mean over 100, at any given time) with those free pads of paper that charities send out. Her handwriting is so bad now--(she's 91) you cannot read it--so writing things down doesn't help. Also, her purse and 2 walker bags are both jam packed with junk. One more note reminding her of something would be adding to the mess that already exists.

She cannot lift her head above 4'-and that's a stretch--so all pictures and notes, if posted, are at my waist level. And she ignores them.

IF she were more cognizzant of things, I think a big calendar posted where it's eaily seen might help, but in her case, nothing works. We missed the switch over to a huge calendar a couple years ago...it DID work, but we didn't 'renew' it once year and by the time that was noticed, she had forgotten to look at each day.

The ONLY things she remembers are Drs appts and Tuesday Bingo. Every other day just blends into all the rest.

We're fortunate that she has not had any kitchen fires. She's aware that if that happens we have to reopen the NH discussion with her.

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I think you’re trying to treat the symptom. The real questions is, why is she doing this in the first place? Does she think it’s nighttime? Do they bother her? Hurt her? Is she worried or anxious about losing them? I would try to get to the root of the problem.

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I don’t know. When I ask her she doesn’t know. She doesn’t complain about them buying her. She is very confused about time of day. I have found her all undressed, teeth out, asleep in bed as early as 2:30 in the afternoon. So she may think it is almost time for bed. The routine is to put them in a container in the bathroom which I usually get ready for her each night. She can do it herself but has sometimes forgotten and just left them in her bed or wrapped in a tissue by her night stand. So I get it ready for her each night.

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My hubby takes his teeth out multiple times a day. He can never remember that he has them in or out. He has new dentures that fit him perfectly. I think the reason he does it, is because it's one of the only things he can do by himself and it gives him a sense of control. So I just roll with it.

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My mother with MCI did very well with "notes" printed on an 8.5"x11" paper in a dark size 20-28 font and posted on the walls (like our address and how to use her cell phone) as well as a daily "checklist" with routine things tasks like brush your teeth, get the newspaper, etc. and a "take your cane" reminder posted on the exterior door. I also posted notes with "plates", "cups", "cereal" on the kitchen cabinets when Mom moved into my house.

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It depends on "where" she is in the dementia journey.
My Husband would not have understood notes. Probably from very early on and most definitely as he declined. I can't say as to what "stage" because he never followed the typical "stage" decline.
Do you use notes for anything else? If so do they work?
I have to ask a few questions though.
Do they bother her? Is that why she is taking them out?
Does she remove them after a meal? Does she look for them before eating?
If they bother her but she does not have a problem when she is eating I would have her remove them after each meal. You can place them in a container where they will be easy for you to find. Next time she needs them you will know where they are and can give them back to her to place in her mouth.
If she is on pureed foods and they bother her I would just not bother with them at this point. (from what I just looked up not wearing dentures should not effect the jawbone, as a matter of fact wearing dentures can cause some bone loss)

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No. She doesn’t complain about them. She just randomly takes them out lately. She eats regular food, not puréed. She takes them out sometimes right before we are about to eat dinner. It’s just frustrating. I know it is a very little thing though compared to so many things that people have to deal with.

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LOL no advice but fun memories of Grandma. She would carry her teeth in her pocket and only wear them for meals. They didn’t fit right but she would not go to the dentist to have them corrected. I was so upset at her funeral when’s they put them in her mouth for the viewing. My cousins all agreed they should have been in her pocket.

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Lol

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How about several plastic dental boxes placed in strategic places including her pocket? I put the shallow top of the white dental case on my mom’s dresser with “please put teeth here” to remind her to take them out before she lays down for a nap or for the night.

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My home was covered with post-it’s. A new sign is noticed but after that it is just part of the wallpaper— meaningless. I found a device for my father years ago that could work. He was in a wheelchair and forgot he couldn’t walk so I clipped a small recorded device to the wall and to his collar and when he started to move my recorded voice would say “Dad please sit down”. Now let’s put our heads together to find an idea for a recording that says, “Mom please put your teeth in the case.”Perhaps “hey Google” or “Alexa” set a reminder every 15 minutes telling Mom to put her teeth in the case. (Until it becomes as much of a habit as taking them out) Good luck.

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My mother had hearing aids, and my dad was afraid she'd put them down or wrap them in a tissue to be thrown away. Because she also had macular degeneration, she couldn't see them when she put them down, even on a table nearby.

Dad bought her several shiny metal bowls (about 4 inches across), and he put one next to her chair at the breakfast table, one next to her snoozing chair, and one on her bedside table. He was able to train her that the hearing aids ONLY went in the shiny bowl, and it worked. I don't think she realized there were multiple bowls scattered around the house, but she could see them well enough, and each one was in one of her habitual spots.

The only time she lost her hearing aids were when a caregiver took them from her, wrapped them in a napkin, and yep, threw them away.

Try that with your mom. Repetition is the key, so be patient, but have identical receptacles for the teeth to land.

And by the way, they're probably painful or uncomfortable if she keeps taking them out.

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I like the shiny bowl idea - I can see that would be helpful for someone with deteriorating sight no matter what reason, we forget to make this sort of change to what we give people when we can see the bowl easily. Great idea Dad!

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Does she have a reason for this? Are they uncomfortable and by mid afternoon she has had enough of them? Would she use a "special box" to put them in. Perhaps "training" her to use the same place would be a better solution (if possible) than telling her to stop removing them if there is a comfort issue - or any other reason.

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She doesn’t say that they are uncomfortable. There is a container in her bathroom which is right off her bedroom not far from where she sits. The routine is to put them in that container at night before bed. She just randomly takes them out sometimes.

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My mom would take the signs down and put them away somewhere. 🙄

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:)))). 'people gonna do what they want to do, no matter what anyone says or does'

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I have the same problem with my mom. She loses a lot of things. At the moment we are looking for her hearing aid. It is really frustrating. I know she can't help it but these things are expensive to replace! I have my mom keeping the denture container right on the table next to where she sits. That way she has a spot to put them if she takes them out without having to walk to the bathroom to store them. She's 93 and her mobility is not that good. Does your mom have a caregiver who comes in daily? Mom has someone who comes in twice a day, morning and night. I've asked them to make sure she puts her teeth in in the a.m. and in the container at night. I hope this helps. I know how hard it is when you are dealing with someone with dementia and memory issues. Best of luck to you and your mom!

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Costco will replace hearing aids, even if they are lost!!

I found the quality and price point beat the competitors, even before I learned they had a lost hearing aid replacement guarantee. (I believe they will replace them once for free in a 2 year span).

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Maybe her dentures hurt - if they feel very comfortable in her mouth, she might not be inclined to take them out.

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Exactly!
She shouldn't be aware that she's wearing dentures if they fit right. Take her to a dentist for a check-up.

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Make a sign and have her place them on the sign or next to it. My father would do the same thing because his dentures never fit good and he only wore them when he ate. But finding them was a challenge sometimes.

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You can try a sign. It might be easier to have "teeth containers" that are labelled as such around the house for her to put them into.

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Please do not put up signs! They won't work and are condescending. She wouldn't be doing this, if she was understanding what she is doing. She sounds like she may have beginning stages of dementia. It's a common symptom when people put things in odd places. Why is she taking teeth? Are they bothering her? Maybe leave them out (in your care) and only put them in when she has to eat. My mother did the same thing with her glasses. I got her several spare pair of them, we tried having the nurse at her memory care facility keep them, nothing worked. Now she's not wearing glasses at all and seems to be functioning. She got to a stage where everything on her face was bothering her, including the oxygen tubes when she was in the hospital. She'd tear them off.

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When MIL had to go into a facility, we had to clean out the house and sell it. In doing so, we found her false teeth, in her bedroom cupboard, in a butter bowl! She hadn't worn them in years anyway, but that's where they were. I doubt if she even remembered putting them there.

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My MIL died 4 years before my FIL. When we were cleaning out their house we found a complete set of dentures, neatly wrapped in Saran-wrap, un his sock drawer. We have no idea whose dentures they were, because my hubby's mom, brother, and father all were wearing their dentures when they died!

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Dementia is different for everyone. Some people retain the ability to read "notes" and are helped by them, at least for a period of time. Some people don't respond to notes, often because they don't read well anymore or sometimes because they do not see them. You will not know what your loved one's situation is until you try.

Nothing that works is and makes their lives easier is "condescending".

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it wasn't the suggestion of the comment, it was the tone that was being objected to....communicaiton is 70% non verbal

'there are 2 things in life we can all afford, soap & manners'

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People who do things like this are gone. All the reminders in the world will do nothing. I had someone who did this and the first time the family replaced the lost teeth. Then they kept disappearing. I put my foot down and said no (I was POA). Once it can happen but have the brains to know NO MORE REPLACEMENTS ARE AVAILABLE. If people are so "dumb" to do this, then they have to learn to live in the beds they have made - they do NOT get new teeth. No if's, and's or but's.

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And if you do find the missing teeth, check that they fit perfectly and do not cause pain. If everything is o.k. good, but do NOT replace them again and again.

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Help her learn that EVERY time after eating, she should rinse her partials/dentures, her mouth and apply fresh dental adhesive as needed.

otherwise, partials etc can be very UNcomfortable…if that is the case, no wonder she removes them.

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Why not keep them out except when she is eating. When done eating and taken out to clean, put them away in a safe place being she does not need them until next meal..

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Excellent answer and there is the possibility that her dentures don’t fit right. My mother wouldn’t let anyone see her without hers, not even me, her caregiver and I wear dentures too

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Is there some sort of necklace thing with a bag on it that you could try having her wear?

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liks a horses feed bag :)))

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This is in reference to the post by Riley. People with dementia often misplace things such as hearing aids and dentures. It's not because they are dumb. They have impaired mental function and memory problems. They get confused easily. They do not have to have dementia to have short term memory problems. I agree that it is not cost effective to continually replace these items. That being said, we should treat them kindly and with compassion. They are quite often aware of their deficits and it is cruel to infer that they are dumb. They're not!

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When my mother reached the stage that putting away groceries and clean dishes got to be difficult, I tried labelling fridge/freezer and the kitchen cabinet. No effect. In response to this, my father said "your mother is illiterate" It took me a minute to understand what he meant, but when I did, I laughed my head off!

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These funny stories are refreshing. Thank you!

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Try it and then tell us.

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My mom takes her teeth out in the middle of the afternoon and puts them in random places. Would a sign telling her not to do that help?

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