Walter Fries suffers from late stage Alzheimer’s and woke up one day suffering from a serious tooth abscess. His son Daniel contacted their local hospital and primary dentist, but neither were able to help. He even checked with his local Alzheimer’s Association, and they had no idea what to do. He felt disheartened at how ill-informed everybody was. Finally, a colleague referred him to the Blende Dental Group.

Daniel Fries was surprised at how quickly he was able to get an appointment. He was even more impressed at how at ease the team was in dealing with patients with impaired mental capacity. He noted how extremely caring and concerned they were.

After the initial exam, Dr. Chau scheduled a full sedation dental surgery in collaboration with Kaiser. Mr. Fries son says “Dr. Blende and his team were able to extract 3 teeth and do 18 fillings; essentially reconstructing my father’s mouth in less than 3 hours while he was under sedation.”

The results were beyond what could have been expected. The recovery was short and easy, and Walter doesn’t appear to be in pain any longer. Beyond better oral health, the family and healthcare providers for Mr. Fries states that he has “more pep in his step”, that his appetite has doubled and his general mood is no longer lethargic.

Daniel immediately volunteered to share his experience with others. “The service is amazing and makes dealing with a tough situation as easy as possible, especially when the patient cannot express themselves personally.  For those with family members suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia I can’t highly stress enough how amazing Dr. Blende and his staff was. Traditional dentists don’t know where to start in dealing with a special needs patient, but the Blende Dental Group team was able to plan an effective care strategy, schedule every detail, and ensure the process was smooth and streamlined for everyone involved.”

Additionally, to ensure Walter’s ongoing health and comfort, the Blende Dental Group’s Patient Care Coordinator helped with arranging in home services for routine cleanings and oral hygiene.

JT, a New Yorker in her 70’s, became bedridden and not able to see a dentist for several years. When she developed an abscess and chipped a front tooth, she grew desperate to arrange for care. Despite referrals from former dentists, no one was able to find a dentist’s office or hospital that could accommodate her. Within an hour of contacting House Call Dentists, she had an appointment with Dr. Blende and team.

We arrived in her home with an entire dental office packed into several customized luggage carts. After examination, Dr. Blende explained his proposed treatment plan, a tentative schedule and estimated cost. The verbal and written explanation was a practice JT, a former health educator, appreciated.

Dr. Blende and Dr. Nord carried out the treatment plan that included two root canals and seven crowns entirely at her bedside over three visits. JT found the follow up care to be meticulous and the result spectacular.

Mrs. Delores Taylor * is a 91-year-old woman with a complex medical history that includes atrial fibrillation, orthostasis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, hypothyroidism, major depressive disorder and generalized pain. She takes multiple medications for these conditions. Mrs. Taylor is able to live at home with assistance from her daughter and round-the-clock home health aides. Her care is overseen and coordinated by her private Care Manager, Betsy Lichtenstein. Betsy describes the role of a care manager as “like another daughter.” She is dedicated to keeping her clients safe at home, living with dignity and comfort, and dealing with the occasional crisis.

Mrs. Taylor had been experiencing deterioration of her overall dental health, a result of medication-induced xerostomia (chronic dry mouth that often causes rapid tooth decay). Her tooth decay had progressed to the point that her bridge was lifting off its anchoring teeth like a trapdoor and was in danger of breaking off (a potential airway obstruction). She also began to have discomfort in her lower left molar, and had resorted to eating only soft foods. Betsy knew a referral was imperative and recalled meeting the House Call Dentists team at a National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM) chapter meeting. She made the call.

For Mrs. Taylor’s initial consultation, Dr. Kelly Yu visited her residence in Manhattan with portable dental equipment. After performing an oral health examination and taking digital x-rays with immediate imaging, Dr. Yu recommended a treatment plan with the patient’s own priorities regarding discomfort, function and aesthetics in mind. During a second house call visit, Dr. David Blende completed Mrs. Taylor’s treatment while she sat comfortably in her reclining chair, taking breaks as she needed. A third house call was made by another team dentist to seat her crowns. Mrs. Taylor is now on a 3 month recall program and will receive maintenance care in her home.

When asked to describe her experience, Betsy said, “House Call Dentists offered the only viable option for a senior who has both physical and emotional barriers to leaving the house. As a rule, the extensive dental work that was done for my client is offered exclusively to the active and/or mobile population who go to dentists’ offices. Dr. Blende and his team were so caring and gentle. They took the time to understand Mrs. Taylor’s personality and elicited her cooperation by making her feel safe and able to comfortably tolerate all the work. They even trained the home health aides regarding aftercare and maintenance. It is a rarity to have access to this expertise in the home environment and if not for House Call Dentists, this option would have been non-existent.”

*Patient’s name has been changed at her family’s request.

Late-stage Alzheimer’s was the unfortunate plight for eighty three year old Betty Kouns. Fortunately, she has a loving son who made sure she had the best care possible.

Because of Betty’s condition, she rarely opened her mouth and refused to have her teeth brushed at her skilled nursing facility. During a visit by her son, Thomas, she opened her mouth just long enough for him to realize that her gums were infected and her teeth had decayed significantly. Thomas knew inflamed gums have a profoundly negative impact on the rest of the body, especially the heart. Through his research, he also learned that if a tooth becomes painful in a person with late-stage Alzheimer’s they would not be able to articulate that and could end up in a state of constant pain and agitation. They may stop eating all together, leading to rapid deterioration.

The biggest obstacle was that Betty wouldn’t open her mouth wide enough for a traditional dental procedure to be performed. Thomas investigated resources and met with two dentists that claimed to do sleep dentistry. He quickly realized they didn’t have the experience to deal with the seriousness of his mother’s case nor did they exhibit the professionalism and follow-through that he expected. And then his trusted advisor referred him to the Blende Dental Group – one of only a handful of dental practices specializing in not only sleep dentistry, but “special needs dentistry” for patients with such diseases as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Autism. This included using general anesthesia in a hospital setting, for procedures that couldn’t be performed safely in an office setting. He learned they are not only pioneers in this specialty but they are also one of the very few experienced providers of mobile dentistry for patients such as Betty, for whom leaving her facility is a terrifying thought and a stressful endeavor.

Other than the procedure itself, the Blende Dental Group can do all the preliminary work in the comfort and privacy of your loved one’s home. Dr. Mathai and a dental assistant drove thirty-five miles from their office in San Francisco to Mrs. Kouhn’s facility in the South Bay. Equipped with a mobile X-Ray machine they were able to show Betty’s son the images on their laptop and explain exactly what the issues were. Thomas was more than impressed by Dr. Mathai’s approach and her excellent communication around the complexities of his mom’s case. He said “Blende Dental Group was by far the most professional and courteous team I spoke to. You could sense that special needs dentistry wasn’t just a job, but that they were truly passionate about the health and well-being of their patients.”

Betty Kouhn’s procedures were performed at Kaiser Hospital San Francisco, where Dr. Blende (practice founder) is Chief of the Dental Division. Over the course of less than five hours, Betty’s first procedure was performed by Dr. Blende and the second by Dr. Mathai. Thomas was further reassured that his mom was in excellent hands, when he witnessed the relationship between the Blende Dental Group doctors and their extended team. Thomas recounted how “both Dr. Blende and Dr. Mathai seemed to know and have worked with every anesthesiologist, MD and nurse in the entire hospital. Mom’s Kaiser anesthesiologist even told me my mother was in very good hands with Dr. Blende and his staff during the initial operation.”

Thomas was excited that everything went seamlessly, and relieved that his mother would no longer be in pain. Most surprising to him, and others familiar with Betty’s case, is how the procedure improved her overall health. According to her son, “she now has more energy, a stronger appetite and appears happier and healthier than before. It made me realize that there is a strong correlation between the health of our teeth and gums and our overall health and well-being”.

The Kouns family also experienced what many patients before them have – that the care of the Blende team does not stop with the start or completion of the medical procedures. During the entire process, Thomas had the support of Patient Care Coordinator, Elisabeth Wong, who made sure every detail was handled professionally and worked tirelessly to ensure that the family received reimbursement for the full extent of their insurance coverage.

This condition impeded the formation of enamel on her teeth, leaving them brittle, full of caries and very sensitive. She also suffered from a severe overbite that prevented her teeth from closing properly and chronic parafunctional bruxism that left her without adequate chewing surfaces.

In 2004, at age 21, Mandy was referred by Dr. Ray Lyons, her hometown dentist. We worked with Dr. Lyons to sketch out a treatment plan for Mandy’s full-mouth rehabilitation  to be completed in less than a week. After 27 crowns, 5 extractions, root canal therapy on 3 teeth, and 4 quadrants SC/RP, she went home with functional chewing surfaces and a big happy smile!

In 2015, we welcomed Mandy and her parents back for a quick a one-day visit to our office where she received treatment under general anesthesia for bridge prep #6-8, decoronation #7, and 4 quadrants SC/RP. She returned home that evening and her custom bridge, created by our on-site lab, was sent to Dr. Lyons for cementation in his office without sedation.

Mandy’s dental health continues to be maintained by Dr. Lyons in Albuquerque and we continue to enjoy updates on her life.

A bike accident at the young age of 16, sent Matthew Snipper down the path that would leave him changed far beyond the whole new set of teeth that he needed.

The process was long and painful in every way. For nearly a year, Matthew needed to see a dentist and an oral surgeon three times per week. He had head gear, neck gear, and braces. His mouth was so swollen it was painful to eat. In the end he had his new teeth, but he also had a very real phobia of what he called “the house of pain”.

Most of us believe that lightening never strikes the same place twice, but for the unfortunate Mr. Snipper, years later, a serious motorcycle accident again resulted in significant loss of teeth and those that were left were fractured or broken. Matthew’s dentist referred him to Dr. Blende and he went reluctantly. The team he met with recognized that his dental phobia was very real and discussed his case honestly and compassionately. Complete dental reconstruction in one day, sounded like an impossible goal, but Dr. Blende’s confidence in what his team could do reassured Mathew and left him knowing it would be an experience that few people in the country could have.

After a couple of preliminary appointments and case planning Matthew underwent a 16-hour procedure, under general anesthesia, at Kaiser Hospital, where Dr. Blende is chief of the dental division. Mr. Snipper says he doesn’t remember much, other than waking up to find out it was done! The recovery was nothing more than a couple of days of minor discomfort, and he has had no problems, no bite adjustments, no pain, and he hasn’t looked back.

Mr. Snipper shared that “the results now are much better than what I had before, and the process far superior, but perhaps the greatest joy was when my 8-year old daughter just looked up at my new healthy mouth and smiled.”

When asked about the healthcare staff who worked with him, Matthew exclaimed “The entire team did everything possible to set up the case for success, and exceeded my expectations. Dr. B is cool, but even the after-care is amazing.”

Matthew has truly overcome his phobia and is overcome with gratitude for the exceptional job of Dr. Blende and his team.