Elder Care in Gainesville GA
Taking care of your aging parent’s oral health is an important part of maintaining his overall health and wellbeing, and while brushing and flossing twice daily can do a tremendous amount to help make sure that his mouth, and the rest of his body, stay as healthy as possible, they do not always prevent problems from occurring. Decay, injury, illness, and other problems can occur and necessitate treatments from simple fillings to more complex surgeries. If such dental work is going to be part of your elderly care journey with your aging parent, it is important to know how to help him through his recovery so that he can not only get the maximum benefit from the dental work performed, but also so that he can avoid further problems such as injury, infection, and damage to the treated area.
Use these tips, and share them with your parent’s caregiver, to help your senior recover from dental work in the most comfortable and most beneficial way possible:
• Know what happened. It can be difficult to really prepared for successful recovery from any type of medical procedure if you are not sure what happened. Make sure that you know before your parent goes in for his treatment what is being treated and what the dental team is going to do. This will give you a better understanding of what he is going through and what types of recovery activities he might need.
• Prepare in advance. Before the treatment make sure that your parent follows all of the dentist’s guidelines for how he should get ready for the procedure. This may be not eating or drinking for a certain length of time, brushing or flossing, or not brushing or flossing, right before the procedure, or taking certain medications. You should also prepare by creating a “recovery space” in the home so that your parent can relax, rest, and get better after the work. While simple procedures such as a filling may not necessitate a tremendous amount of recovery, other work such as root canals or crown implantation may leave your parent in pain and needing rest for a few days, and having a space that is comfortable and convenient to needs such as the bathroom and water can make recovering faster and easier.
• Clean with care. Make sure that your parent, you, and his caregiver, thoroughly understand the guidelines and instructions for cleaning the mouth after the procedure. For some types of dental work you should not rinse the mouth for at least 72 hours and brushing and flossing should be far gentler than usual. This does not mean not cleaning the mouth at all, simply taking caution to clean without disturbing the treatment site.
• Know food guidelines. The last thing you want is for your parent to go through the dental work only to damage the site with what he eats or drinks afterwards. Review eating and drinking guidelines with the dentist so that you know what he can and cannot do. This might include not eating or drinking anything with extreme temperatures, not using a straw, or only eating soft foods.
The staff at Home Care Matters is available to talk with you and your family about all of your needs. Home Care Matters is a home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care services in Gainesville, GA and the surrounding areas. Call (678) 828-2195 for more information.
Valerie has the unique experience with home care as she has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum, as a caregiver and as needing care herself as a cancer survivor. Valerie says, “Taking care of someone you love is a physically, mentally and demanding labor of love.Taking care of my mom was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has given me an insight and perspective not many people understand unless you are doing it or have done it.I loved taking care of my mom.I love helping others take care of their love ones too.And now that I’ve been sick, it’s given me a whole new level of empathy and understanding for those who are sick and need help.”
Valerie’s schedule varies daily, but she loves visiting with our clients, families, caregivers, our network partners and being in the office.Says Valerie, “Every day is different, but I wake up excited about what we do, inspired by our team, clients and caregivers.I strive to be a resource to the community.I love my team and I love what we do every day. I like to think my mom would be proud.”
You can reach Valerie by email (Valerie@homecarematters.com) or in our office (770.965.4004).
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