Oral Dental Care for Unconscious Seniors

Authored by: Muzna Mian

As seniors get older there are various medical and physical conditions that affect their lives. This can cause them to find simple tasks hard to do on their own. Although, sometimes some tasks become more difficult than others. For example brushing one’s teeth is not a hard task for many of us with the standard idea of brushing for two minutes. However, for the elderly, due to joint pains and mobility. Brushing their teeth on their own is rather a difficult task, and they might require assistance from relatives and also personal support workers.

One common issue some seniors face is becoming unconscious and as a result they faint. This could be caused by several different conditions for example heart disease. If an individual experiences a heart attack or some sort of heart pain that can cause heart failure. Then an individual can become unconscious when cardiac arrest occurs in the body. The heart is a vital organ in the human body as it pumps blood that allows us to stay alive. Unfortunately, when this process gets disrupted it causes an individual to faint and become unconscious.

Another form of unconsciousness can be caused by vasovagal syncope. The problem arises when the nervous system becomes attacked. Since it is the central route for all actions and processes which controls both our conscious actions of when we decide on fight or flight.

As a result this would increase heart rate and blood pressure under certain situations. In addition to the normal every movement of eating, sitting and walking. When these processes become imbalance the vagus nerve system can take over. This causes the decrease of blood pressure. When the blood cannot flow properly through the body, an individual passes out and becomes unconscious.

When a senior is unconscious it is crucial to be careful and handle the situation with care. Cleaning the teeth is an important part of oral dental care. Below are some simplified steps of how personal care workers and nurses clean the teeth. If the patient has dentures a little explanation is also provided below.

1. The first step for optimal safety for both the patient and caretaker is to ensure hands are washed and gloves are used when providing cleaning for the mouth.
2. Since the patient would be in a hospital bed, it is important to slowly allow the bed to be in an upright position. However, ensure to not move the bed to high so it does not harm their body
3. Slowly turn their head towards your body to allow easy access for cleaning in the mouth.
4. Grab a cloth and slowly open their mouth but ensure to not place your fingers fully inside.
5. Then grab a small plastic plate and put it between the tongue and teeth. Next ensure to grab a brush and slowly clean up and down in the mouth
6. When brushing ensure the patient’s head is carefully leaned close to you.
7. Use a syringe and allow for some water to clean off any big particles or waste
8. It would also be a good idea to drop a little bit of mouthwash to prevent any other infections
9. Then ensure to suction out all the tartar, toothpaste and saliva from the mouth
10. Once the brushing is done and the mouth is cleared, make sure to wipe off any additional water from the outside of the mouth with a small cloth
11. If the patient has dentures, it is important to first remove them. Then clean them and allow them to stay in a cup overnight. Once they are fully clean carefully insert them back into the seniors mouth.
12. Once the cleaning is done, make sure to place the senior back into their comfortable sleeping position and carefully raise the hand rails and lower the bed
13. Then make sure to take off the gloves, dispose them in the bin and wash your hands.

Providing dental care is a crucial component for all of us. However, during certain circumstances some patients need better care than others. As one gets older certain medical issues arise. For example when patients become unconscious. Although this occurs, oral care is still needed to ensure one’s mouth remains clean.

In this blog it entails a brief overview of why individuals can become unconscious. It also provides solutions on how to provide oral care for unconscious seniors. Furthermore, it provides a explanation of how in the medical field nurses and personal care workers use these steps to ensure these patients have a good oral hygiene.

Authored by: Muzna Mian

References

Fainting (syncope). Causes of Fainting (Syncope) | American Geriatrics Society | HealthInAging.org. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2023, from https://www.healthinaging.org/a-z-topic/fainting-syncope/causes

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2023, January 19). Sudden cardiac arrest. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved January 14, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sudden-cardiac-arrest/symptoms-causes/syc-20350634

Mona, M., Islam, M., Pank, Muklija, Peterson, J., & Aryan. (2020, December 16). How to perform oral care for unconscious patient in hospital? Nursing Exercise. Retrieved January 14, 2023, from https://nursingexercise.com/oral-care-procedure-icu-patient/

Vasovagal syncope: Symptoms, causes and treatment. Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23325-vasovagal-syncope