Oral Hygiene

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Duker52

Distinguished member
Joined
May 22, 2016
Messages
119
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
04/2016
Country
US
State
Virginia
City
Alexandria
I am a PALS with bulbar onset. I can not spit, purse my lips to kiss, puff out my cheeks, gargle, or swish water in my mouth. I also can not eat food and take only small sips of thickened water orally. I brush my teeth, but it is real effort to suck up water to rinse the toothpaste out of my mouth. I unintentionally bite the insides of my cheeks which causes sores for a couple of days.

I know all of this comes with having bulbar onset, but can anyone provide any oral hygiene tips to make sure I keep my mouth clean and don't make it a breeding ground for things like thrush. Appreciate any ideas.

Bill
 
Bill, have you tried rinsing by squirting slowly with a syringe? There are also brushing rinses (they double as a mouthwash and toothpaste). Much easier to get rid of after brushing. Don't put the rinse in your mouth, dip the toothbrush into it.

Yeah, the biting the inside of the cheeks is so annoying, sometimes I pinch my cheek between my fingers on the outside to pull it out away from the line of fire :)
 
I used to rinse by just dipping the toothbrush in water and gently brush, dip, brush over and over. Chris would sit with his head slightly forward, towel and bowl in front of him and just let it flow out.

I used very little toothpaste as it would make him gag if I wasn't very careful.
 
Bill, I have the same issue with bulbar.

I use a disposable mouth swab. After brushing, I wet the swab, squeeze out the water( no aspiration please) and then swab out the residual. I do it a couple times and works pretty good. The swabs also come in handy as a mouth refresher.(minty).
 
There are water flossers. You could brush then floss
 
There is a product called Toothette oral swabs. These are disposable swabs on a stick, available in different flavors, and no water is needed. They clean your teeth, stimulate your gum tissue, clean between your teeth and remove debris. Lots of hospitals, nursing homes, and rehab centers use these to prevent aspiration. They aren't very expensive and you can find them on Amazon. Use a tongue scraper to clean your tongue so you don't get "hairy tongue".
 
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