undetected causes

A note from LBDA: One caregiving topic that isn’t addressed often in LBD is quality oral care. Infections and pain can worsen behavioral problems, so good dental hygiene and care is part of providing optimal care to people with LBD.

My wife, Rita, has had symptons of Parkinson since 2006, and has undergone drugs of various types and for different simptons over this long period. A final diagonosis is LBD and discontinuance of ALL drugs. This has resulted in the best overall improvement in all these years. However, recently we were finally (after years of effort) able to get her to see a dentist. We also convinced her to wash her mouth with hydrogen peroxide each morning (before eating) and each nite (immediately before retiring).The results just from the hydrogen peroxide have been almost miraculous. The naseau experienced throughout the past several years has gradually disappeared, and her appetite has noticeably improved. We attribute this strictly to the hydrogen peroxide (over the counter, 3%) The finding from the dentist and oral surgeons was a woefully neglected set of teeth, full of cavities and several long-standing infections. After visiting several oral surgeons, a decision was made to extract three of the worst teeth and, then, decide if further action is needed. Hydrogen peroxide will be continued but will be substituted by an anti-biodtic to be given 7 days before removal of the teeth in order to make sure infection has been totally removed. My reason for writing this is in hopes it will help others who may be needlessly suffering (perhaps from misdiagnosis or incomplete diagnosis) not including a complete dental examination. It is surprising that throughout my wife’s treatment not one of the physicians thought to see the results of a thorough dental examination as a possible cause of the some of the symptons experienced.


Darrell Sekin

Jul 10, 2012