Oral hygiene adaptations for elderly with Alzheimer’s disease: case reports

Abstract

The limitations due to Alzheimer’s disease progression require planning together with the caregiver, in order to weave strategies to overcome the difficulties. The aim of the present study is to report cases in wich different oral hygiene orientation strategies were used, adapted according to the difficulties presented by the caregivers. Three patients were selected, all with Probable Alzheimer’s disease, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 1, female, user of removable partial denture, research participants of the Dentistry project at the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease of the Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (CDA/IPUB/UFRJ). The project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the UFRJ. During the clinical examination, very different behavioral profiles were observed, despite equivalent diagnoses. Caregivers reported their difficulties and the Dentistry team proposed schemes to circumvent the situation. The new information was well received by the caregivers who reported
improvements in the oral health care of the elderly. This group of patients requires care strategies guided by the caregiver’s reports, adapting them to different behavioral profiles.