You may not know it, but dental care can help you live longer. The kind you can perform by yourself, in the privacy of your own bathroom, three times a day.
When periodontic disease bacteria travel from your gums, through the bloodstream, they can infect and swell your arteries, and trigger a heart attack or stroke.
But modern scientific technology has come riding to the rescue – particularly for seniors with arthritis, hand weakness, or tremors. At a price range that anyone can handle: $10 for a basic model with replaceable batteries up to over $200 for all-bells-and-whistles models with rechargeable lithium batteries, multiple brushing mode, smartphone integration, and more.
Here are some of the latest features to look into:
Rechargable batteries – A brush with built-in rechargeable battery (and recharging station is more convenient and cost-effective (in the long run) than replaceables.
Brushing action – Brush heads can be either "spinning" or "sonic." Spinning brushes rotate ver fast in one direction, then the other, while sonics, which vibrate side to side. Both are equallly effective, so take your pick.
Timer - Since most dentists recommend two minutes' brushing time, many manufacturers have built them into their products. Some even split the time up into 30 seconds, so you know when it time to switch quadrants of your mouth.
There are even high-end models like cleaning modes, pressure sensors, charge-level displays and Bluetooth conections to smartphones or tablets to track your brushing habits.
According to Consumer Reports, the best electic toothbrushes of 2004 (so far) are the Oral- B IO 7 series ($150), Oral-B Genius X 10000 ($200), Bruush Electric Toothbrush ($95), and Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100 ($120).
Their highest rated low cost toothbrush is the Brightline 86700 ($30).
It's amazing that so much thought and technology go into the simple toothbrush. Now consider how much has to go into additional parts of retirement – not only physical, but mental, cognitive, and psychosocial. And you can't really tell what's needed from a standard list of services.
That’s a principle we’ve always lived and worked by at Senior Insights. Instead of starting with a list of standard services and providing them for clients, we work the other way around – with clients and their families coming first.
Specifically, we start with a thorough, three-part needs assessment that goes beyond superficial physical health to also look at mental health, functional and social abilities, cognitive health, and even a safety evaluation, to uncover important information that neither our clients nor their families may have known. To keep that information current, we monitor each client’s care weekly. And our monthly registered nurse assessments go way beyond just taking vital signs and are more like mini-needs assessments.
Using that information, we coordinate each client’s individual care plan not only with their health needs, but also with their needs, their schedule, their hobbies, interests, activities, and social lives.
So if senior care worries are worrying you, please call or contact us.
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