After reading this story about a body being exhumed in order to replace the dead man's dentures with the correct ones it made think. Firstly, I don't think the poor chap in hospital would want his own dentures back after they had been sitting in a dead man's mouth in the ground for a few days. And seriously, the poor guy in the coffin wouldn't care whose dentures he was wearing when six foot under. Surely his widow would have been through enough after losing her husband and laying him to rest, without then having to have him dug up to replace his dentures. But clearly this lady felt it was necessary, and there is now nothing false about this corpses teeth!
This mistake and mix up over patients belongings has cost the hospital involved dearly and I just hope lessons have been learned when it comes to the storage of patients dentures.
After cleaning dentures should be stored in water in a covered container when they are not being worn. If a denture wearer is in hospital the container should be clearly marked with the patients' name.
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