A 63-year-old woman living in an apartment in the 79935 area reached out to the Area Agency on Aging with several concerns. After listening to her description of concerns, her primary issue is her dental health. She suffers from gastrointestinal problems that have led to weight loss, overall physical deterioration, tooth loss, and limited mobility.
She believes her dental issues are caused by a combination of her medication and her inability to eat properly. She reports having rotting teeth, gaps where teeth have fallen out, and a foul odor due to these issues. She knows she has cavities and needs extensive dental work to restore her ability to eat normally. She cannot afford the necessary dental care, even with a sliding fee scale made available to her at her local clinic.
Due to her fixed income, she can cover rent, utilities, medications, and some groceries but has no funds left for dental care. She has two sons who live nearby and help her by bringing dinner most evenings. Due to her physical condition, she is afraid to drive and relies on her sons for transportation to doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping, and other personal matters. She says that she feels bad for bothering her children, as they have their own lives and are barely getting by themselves, but knows that without their help, it would be difficult to manage her life. She prays they never get tired of helping their mother.