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I was rolling grandma back into her room today. As I approached the bed, I noticed something sitting on the floor. I thought it was poop. That's what it generally is. But it was a broken molar. As I'm holding it, grandma says a tooth fell out. It took a lot of effort, grandma doesn't like to open her mouth for anyone to look in. I saw that 3 molars in a row are snapped off at the gum line. There doesn't seem to be any inflammation. The color looks normal. They don't appear to be infected. It just appears that her teeth snapped off due to loss of mineral mass.


What to do? Grandma is in her young 100s. She does not like people messing with her mouth. She's a biter. I can't even brush her teeth. She'll bite me or the toothbrush and not let go. I can kind of get her to brush her own teeth. She doesn't do a great job but it's better than nothing.


The point is that I don't even know if it's possible for a surgeon to be able to exam let alone extract her broken teeth. She won't cooperate. Even with an appliance to keep her mouth open, she'll bite down hard and struggle. So it would have to be anesthesia of some sort. It would have to be deep. She's a fighter. In her condition, I'm not sure she would recover.


Even if the teeth could be pulled, she's going to pick at the suture line like she does with every bandage I put on her. It's not going to be pretty. She's a fan of picking wounds back open. Unlike with a skin wound where I can super wrap it to deter that, I can't do anything about stitches in her mouth.


So I'm leaning towards letting them be. It's not unheard of that the stubs will erupt and end up being a chewing surface or erupt out all the way on their own and fall out.


What have people's experiences been with broken teeth in the elderly? To extract or not, that is the question.

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At her age, I'd spare her the trauma frankly. If she starts feeling severe pain, you can THEN deal with dentists, extractions, sedation, needles and the whole miserable kit & kaboodle. My 92 y/o mother's molar broke off in the same way as your grandma's and we did just that: waited until it became problematic (after a few months) and had it extracted at the regular dentist's office. She did not require sedation, which is why Comfort Dental did the trick. She's also been to an oral surgeon for a more difficult extraction, but again, the trauma factor should not be ignored at 100+ years old. Minimize all the doctor visits whenever possible. That's my attitude and I'm sticking with it!
Good luck!
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Pretty horrible bacteria can enter the body through the mouth. She needs to be seen and I would weigh in on having the teeth pulled.

She will probably need to have light sedation in order to get this done. If she were a 'brusher' this still might have happened, our bodies simply wear out.

Don't just let it slide, she could be harboring a lot of nasty germs in those teeth--what you CAN see and what you CAN'T make a big difference.

Good Luck with that.
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I second AlvaDeer's advice.   From what you describe, her mouth may be a literal invitation for infection, and if it does happen, it will be a lot worse than she can imagine.

My father had a tooth or two that broke off.   His dentist referred him not to an oral surgeon, but an endodontist.   They're required to have more training, and handled the extraction not only in a very professional manner but compassionately as well.
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You ought to discuss this with her doctors. I have had a couple that were broken at the gum line and did need to have them pulled. Why? The oral surgeon said that if I didn't get them pulled I ran the risk of encephalitis, an infection that could lead to abscess in my brain or heart and those things kill.
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My mom lost a front tooth in the NH, one day it just wasn't there. I don't think it bothered her too much or if it did it wasn't high on the list of problems that decreased her quality of life. If it's not hurting her or there are no jagged edges cutting her cheeks or tongue I'd be inclined to just let it be.
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Hi, my mom had this issue recently. She had a dental checkup & he said an oral surgeon would have to take out the teeth (either local or general anesthesia). Mom did not go to the oral surgeon, cuz the teeth didn't hurt her. It went on like that for over a year, then she died of other causes. I'm glad I didn't make her go cuz nothing was infected & not hurting her at all. But you should take her to a regular dentist, cuz he will just xray it & write up the consultation for the surgeon just in case. That way you're prepared in case the teeth start to hurt her. Hope your grandma does ok without extraction for as long as possible.
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You need to speak to a dentist here. The fact she is not in excruciating pain almost certainly means that the roots of those teeth are dead. However, now it is open, and food can lodge in there, bacteria can get into her system. MANY die of gum infections, and they can be quick, going straight to the heart. The reason that with any compromise, even deep cleaning, many dentists want you to check with your MD re antibiotics before cleaning.
The fact is this is almost certainly, given there are THREE, going to have to be done under sedation in hospital or good office setting. The sutures will be quite hidden but rinses will be necessary. The sedation is mild and while that is certainly no guarantee of anything, it helps.
It is possible that an xray can be done. That is a simple bite down on this, and sounds as though Grandma is good at biting down.
You need to pass this past your Dentist, ask for Oral Surgeon to speak with, and pass it past him. You gave perfect description of grandma.
So just to say, left all alone, you are risking an infection that can quickly go systemic and kill. It is the reason I so resent that we do not do dental care for folks who cannot afford it in this country. It is risking their very lives.
Good luck. Let us know what they say.
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