Kathleen Donohue is a speech-language pathologist who works for Boulder Community Health’s Home Care Department. She’s been a speech therapist for 30 years and has been working with people with Parkinson’s for the past ten.
In this video, Kathleen walks you through what to do on a daily basis to keep your mouth (and you) healthy.
Oral Hygiene Plan
I. Positioning
- Sit or stand in front of a mirror
- Give yourself a sturdy base of support
II. Three times a day
- Rinse your mouth out by doing a swish and spit (get most of the food particles out of your teeth before you brush
- Brush with an electric toothbrush (it does the work for you)
- Brush one tooth at a time
- Set a timer for each quadrant
III. Once a day
- Floss between your teeth
- Choose a method and tool that works for you
- Get help to figure out the best method for you
- Use a soft toothbrush to brush mouth tissues
- Brush your tongue, roof of your mouth, gums, cheeks, etc.
- Disrupting the tissues in your mouth will help you maintain healthy flora
- Rinse with alcohol-free mouthwash
- Biotene for Dry Mouth
IV. Three to four times a year
- Visit your dentist for regular cleanings
- The healthier your mouth is, the healthier you are