An estimated 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease each year. It generally affects people in their middle to late years. It is a kind of disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle movements, tremors, muscle rigidity and may even lead to severe memory loss. The patient's speech and motors skills can also suffer.
Parkinson's Disease is a degenerative disorder that affects the body's nervous system which in turn is responsible for the relay of communication between the brain and the muscles. A disruption occurs in the nervous system that gravely affects reactions and movements of the muscles leading to such abnormalities as tremors and rigidity.
The disease usually starts to show symptoms with just a few individual muscle tremors. Sometimes it can manifest itself due to lack of muscle controls that are gradually visible to other people. This can be lack of facial expressions, mumbling sounds while talking, and even the non-movement of the arms while walking. These are simple symptoms that may usually mean the starting occurrence of Parkinson's Disease.
A patient suffering from this disease may likewise suffer from very poor dental hygiene. While it is true that most people who have Parkinson's Disease are already old and therefore no longer requires a set of perfect teeth, the fact remains that oral health is an important factor on the overall health condition of an individual. Therefore it is of high importance that people suffering from this disease still get the right amount of dental hygiene.
Because of the weakness of the muscles, a patient may not be able to brush his own teeth. As such, he may require the assistance of another person preferably from a well-trained professional like a caregiver. An expert assistance is necessary to make sure that the patient gets the best dental hygiene even for his condition. This may mean brushing the patient's teeth, flossing them and administering any required medicines.
Another important point to consider is that some Parkinson's Disease patients are prescribed to take drugs that can cause xerostomia. Xerostomia is more commonly called dry mouth. The saliva is an important component of a good oral hygiene as it helps clean the mouth by fighting off bacteria. Now, a person who suffers from xerostomia has higher risk of developing tooth decay, halitosis and other periodontal diseases and disorders. If you have constant dry mouth, your dentist can prescribe you with a medicine that can stimulate the production of more saliva as well as prescribing you with fluoride treatments to help battle tooth decay.
Also, due to the fact that Parkinson's Disease patients may suffer from tremors, muscle rigidity and weakness, as well as feel agitated, it will be harder to keep him still in the dentist's chair. This is very important because it makes it harder for the dentist to conduct the necessary dental procedures. Some form of equipment and contraptions may be used to keep the patient still. For much worse situations, the dentist may require to sedate his patient to avoid any unnecessary movements during the treatment.
