Geriatric Interview Regarding Dental Hygiene
For this assignment, the gentleman who agreed to be interviewed is simply referred to as Mr. Fitzgerald for confidentiality purposes. Mr. Fitzgerald is a long-time neighbor who has mostly kept to himself until the call to be subject of the interview. The major goal of the assignment was to gain an insight into how aging has affected daily routines and overall health. The interviewee is 75 years old. Because of Mr. Fitzgerald mostly not being a stranger, I interviewed him on his patio on weekday evenings.
He expressed concern on being recorded at first, but soon grew comfortable as he realized I was mostly interested in his life story and thoughts. Mr. Fitzgerald was born in Germany during Hitler’s campaign to cleanse Europe off Jewish heritage. He was the third-born of a wealthy Jewish businessman, which meant privileges such as attending the best schools and the best medical and dental healthcare available at the time. The father was a victim of Hitler’s campaign with the family narrowly escaping. The businesses were repossessed with the family having to seek refuge through various routes in Europe on its way to resettling in America.
Despite his young age at the time, Mr. Fitzgerald had to take on crucial responsibilities to ensure the safety of the family. At just the age of 14 years, he had to find a job to contribute to the family’s dwindling finances. He accepted menial jobs such as being a dishwasher and a promotion to being a busboy at a restaurant at a tender age. His fortunes would finally improve meeting a mentor who was willing to hire him as a personal assistant in the 1960s. he worked hard to complement the income of the family during the turbulent times. Over the years, Mr. Fitzgerald improved his skills and set up a business of his own that he has managed since then. The business has gone through ups and down reaching the verge of bankruptcy at times, though he has been able to sustain it into the successful conglomerate it is today.
Regarding the challenges, he experiences as an aging person currently, he contemplates that life is living the best you can. His experiences escaping Nazi Germany and building a business from the ground up have made him a resilient individual. Family plays an integral role in his current state of happiness, especially seeing his grandchildren grow in a progressive non-threatening environment. His achievements as a successful businessman also give him contentment. Mr. Fitzgerald’s aim is to leave a lasting legacy for the coming generations to use an example to achieve their optimal potential.
The interviewee had signed the consent form and had agreed to be recorded and, therefore could reveal information of a personal nature as it was to be kept confidential and used only for educational purposes. He was able to fill out the green portion of the MDC medical history form without much help. One such personal information he was able to offer is his struggle with throat cancer due to years of smoking.
He explains vividly of why he no longer fears death and that everyone is going in the direction. However, he is not yet ready to lose hope as his chemotherapy is going well and cannot bear the pain of his loved ones mourning over his death. Over the years, he has seen friends succumb to cancer some who chose to stop the taxing chemotherapy treatment to live a happy life in their final moments. He draws up his sleeves to show me his scarred arms and scabs to signify the pain he has endure to live for his family and loved ones.
The greatest joy in Mr. Fitzgerald’s life is his family and business. Seeing his family and business grow from a period when he had nothing immensely fulfils him. Seeing others look up to him be it family or business partners are among his greatest achievements. Having escaped Hitler’s camps and set up a successful business in his lifetime, there are no much regrets that he can divulge.
However, looking back at his childhood, he has to take a 30 minutes break as he gets immensely emotional. Spending more time with his father is one thing he wishes he could have done. Back then, he was erratic, impatient, and made many mistakes that he wishes he could have avoided. Looking back, he wishes he could have just avoided the obvious mistakes. One of them is refraining from starting to smoke at such an early age.
Struggling with diseases pertaining to old age and exerting a financial strain on his family in paying for medication and hospitalizations is a concern to him. Although his business is doing well and he has insurance, it is very expensive and often keeps him awake at night. Leaving his family financially and emotionally unstable concerns him the most. However, Mr. Fitzgerald hopes to draw to his resilience and will to live to grow older and expand in the future. In the first interview, he leaves me with only positive thoughts of seeing the world has a better place than it was before. Despite his frequent chemotherapies, he hopes to engage more in his hobbies of going to the race tracks and routing for his favorite horse. In the first interview, lasting approximately an hour, constant themes of family and business arose over and over again. His inability to spend more time with his father still haunts him even to his old age.
By filling the medical history questionnaire issued, it was able to determine that his health is deteriorating due to the frequent chemotherapies. He has to visit a physician often. His current medications include Cetuximab, pain relievers, combined with chemotherapy after undergoing a surgical procedure a few months ago. Because of his rigorous treatment procedures, he had to give up smoking and engage in regular exercise such as walking twice a day around the block. Mr. Fitzgerald does not drink alcohol and has never partaken to the habit in his life.
Regarding his dental health, he admits that when he was younger struggling to make ends meet and start his own business, he did not pay much attention. His habit of smoking has also had a detrimental impact resulting in him having to use a denture. He has to be careful about his diet because when chewing hard foods, the denture often dislodges. He also has to chew slowly to avoid sores and blisters, and also has to clean regularly to remove food particles that collect under the denture. He also complains of the excess saliva that he has to spit regularly. With the limited foods he can take, Mr. Fitzgerald has to constantly monitor his dietary quality.
He visits the dentist regularly showing me his scheduled monthly appointments. His advice to young people pertaining to dental health is to take care of their teeth and have regular visits to the dentist, because they will regret one day when they have to use dentures. Although he feels having to use a denture is an inconvenience, he now has better oral habits, given up smoking, and even has a dental insurance.
He admits that when he first started using a denture in his early 50s, he was unaware that it too needed regular cleaning. He also used to make the mistake of wearing them to sleep. However, through the insistence of his wife and children, he now has a direct line to a dentist who offers regular tips on how to use the denture appropriately. Among the habits that are now part of his life is removing and rinsing the denture after every meal. He also uses an interdental aid as well as a toothbrush to clean the denture after every meal.
After how cooperative and over-sharing Mr. Fitzgerald had been, I felt it imperative to offer a few nuggets on how to further improve his oral health. The reason is geriatrics often have more concerns than those experienced by younger adults. Among the problems identified that could impact his oral health include trouble holding a toothbrush especially with his chemotherapy treatments that make him very weak, gum diseases, and caring for his denture. One piece of advice to Mr. Fitzgerald is to hire a caregiver who can help him with routine tasks. I could not help but notice that his hands had frequent tremors throughout the interview, hence the need to offer the advice.
Another piece of advice was to also care for his gums as much as he was to the denture. He should brush his gums regularly as well as the roof of the mouth and the tongue using a soft bristle brush. The cleaning should take place every time before putting on his denture. I felt it necessary to remind him on the steps he should take when cleaning his denture. The first step is removing them over a folded towel such that if they dropped they would not break. The next tip was to store them in cleaning liquid each time he went to sleep. It was also essential to remind him to replace his denture as I noticed he had used the current one over the last 5 years. On the cleaning process, I advised him to first rinse, wet the brush and apply Polident and not toothpaste, and then brush every surface gently.
To effectively care for his gums, the advice was to carefully examine them each time before putting on the denture. If there are any signs of redness, it best to visit a dentist. The sores and blisters on the side of the mouth could mean that he may need a proper fitting denture. It was also necessary to remind him to leave the dentures out 6 hours a day to allow for the gums to heal from wear and tear because the recovery time is long at his age.
During the interview I listened carefully because of all the wisdom he had to share. I am now more perceptive of the challenges senior adults undergo through sharing with Mr. Fitzgerald. They have immense healthcare needs and those without insurance and caregivers may struggle to meet them. The interview was illuminating on the need for better dental care starting at any early age and to avoid harmful habits such as smoking, nevertheless it has reiterated my desire to work with aging adults.
