My wife has PSP and in the last week when brushing her teeth she starts normally but then starts scrubbing them extremely hard and fast I have had to take the brush out of her hand forcibly. Today her gums were bleeding. This is with a manual toothbrush I am going to try her with an electric brush that she also has. I know dental hygiene is important. Has anyone else experienced this or ideas of a solution?
She also does a similar thing when eating her meals using a knife and fork.
Hi, unfortunately as the disease progresses you will see more and more obsessive behaviour. We went through lots of different obsessions which resulted sometimes in my wife having to be forceable stoped for her own safety.
Patience is needed but sometimes when you dealing with everything else it can be in short supply.
Keep strong.
Paul
Thanks its nice to know others have the same experience.
So sorry. Your post brings back clear memories of this .I lost my precious Mum 2 weeks ago.
I undertook cleaning of her teeth for her when she started to do this using an electric brush while she could sit at the sink and open her mouth a little.
Later on , I swapped to a very very soft brush and warm water with toothpaste dissolved in it. I had to wait for her to be able to open her mouth. She would clamp down on the brush and I had to help ease her jaw muscles to release it. Prepare for future gum care, and dry mouth care products and to help her all the way. If she mouth breaths she will need regular care and moisture.
I had a humidifier delivering steam towards her so her breathing air was a little moist.
Teeth and mouth care is as has been said "so," important and "yet another" very difficult thing to do ... for you both.
Your wife's muscles will be causing the hard and uncontrollable movements you see... her control of fine movements will be severely impaired ... she can't help it . The same with eating.
My heart is with you both. 💓
Mum had the same problem scrubbing the same tooth over and over. Using an electric toothbrush with a sensitive brush on the end has worked best for us although she still needs prompts to move the brush around her mouth. The dentist suggested using the softest children's brush we could find. Good luck
My husband who also has PSP does the same thing with toothbrush. He also tends to stay in just one location in his mouth, so now I brush his teeth for him. He also can no longer "spit" out the tooth paste so I use a small kidney shape basin similar to what would be used in a hospital and hold it under his chin to catch the "spit". I also keep a small washcloth on hand to wipe as we go as most of it ends up dribbling down his chin. Hope the helps!!
I am just at the beginingthanks,
At this mid stage of PSP I used a soft, child size toothbrush and our GP prescribed non foaming toothpaste which helped. My husband did let me clean his teeth for him and then I gave him the brush for a moment to let him feel in control. He could not spit out, so he just took one small sip to rinse and let the water trickle out. Avoiding choking is the most important thing.
Eating will be changing almost week by week and the Speech and Language Therapist ( SALT ) should be coming at least every 4 / 6 weeks to assess your wife’s swallowing, chewing, consistency of food etc and offering practical advice. I do hope the dangers of aspiration pneumonia have been explained to you.
And make sure you eat well and look after yourself.
Thank you so much I am learning fast and you are all helping a lot. The electric brush with soft head seems to be working but I now realise this will be short lived and will get a soft childs brush and keep it ready.
things have changed so much in the last six months.
You’re welcome. I do hope you are getting practical advice from a hospice outreach nurse, a district nurse or a community matron. You will probably frequently need to be reminding them what exactly PSP is and the PSPA has helpful leaflets for professionals, including GPS.
My husband died last August and there did come a time, probably from end of June, when he was unable to open , or keep open his mouth ( and sometimes open but not be able to close his mouth for some time. ) Upto and from that point dental care is very hard to maintain. I wish I had booked him in to see the hygienist and a sympathetic dentist much earlier when he was in a wheelchair but stronger, to help avoid any pain or discomfort in the mouth at End of Life stage. I had no luck in finding any entitlement to specialist dental care for patients with neurological conditions ( although I did fight and get him regular podiatry appointments. ) I live in S W London.
I’m happy to help with any advice I can give as although still recovering from burnout, I learnt so much about PSP and what the priorities are in caring for one’s loved one ( in about an eight year period. )
I would recommend taking over brushing and look for the Colgate BABY toothbrush. Either on Amazon or in the baby section of a Walmart store if you have these in the UK. Use only the tiniest amount of toothpaste. We use a small plastic waste bin for him to spit in as he is chair bound now and unable to stand over the sink.
the patience required to do all these small important things for our loved ones is Herculean. You are doing a good job. The hardest job there is.
I need to vent (thanks for listening)
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