Texas woman accidentally swallows partial dentures, here's how a medical team saved the day

An elderly woman accidentally misplaced her bottom dentures — in her stomach. 

An 88-year-old woman from Dallas, Texas, was taken to the emergency department of UT Southwestern Medical Center after she "mysteriously" misplaced a partial set of dentures while she was eating dinner.

The woman’s family took her to the hospital when they could not figure out how her bottom dentures suddenly "disappeared," according to Jam Press. 

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The woman apparently was suffering little or no pain — and seemed to have no issues with swallowing.

When doctors assessed the woman, her vital signs appeared within normal range.

Since the woman had a history of stroke, Alzheimer's-related dementia and lymphoma of the brain, however, doctors decided to perform an endoscopy to see if she had swallowed the dentures and simply forgotten about them or not even realized what had happened. 

During the scan, doctors spotted the dentures in the body of her stomach.

Soon after that discovery, physicians reinserted the scope, this time with a foreign body hood protector attached to the tip.

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After several attempts to retrieve the teeth, the doctors finally were able to grab the dentures with the forceps-like device and successfully remove the dentures. 

The woman had no significant injuries from the incident — and was able to return home the next day, according to Jam Press. 

The medical team said dentures are commonly ingested by older adults. 

The hospital's press office declined to discuss specific patient care details due to privacy regulations but referred Fox News Digital to a published case study about the incident.

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"Foreign body ingestion is an under-recognized hazard in adults, especially in the elderly where it may lead to significant morbidity and even mortality," the study noted.

"We present the case of an elderly patient who ingested her denture without any reported symptoms. After early recognition, endoscopic retrieval of the item was performed. We provide support for endoscopy as a safe and effective intervention for removing ingested foreign bodies in the geriatric population," the study also said.

"In most cases, the [foreign] material in question will pass through the GI tract unimpeded. However, endoscopic retrieval in adults is required in roughly 20% of cases and emergency surgery is necessary another 1% of the time," the group also noted in the study. 

The study reporting on the case of an "elderly patient that resulted in a difficult, yet successful, endoscopic recovery" was published in late 2020.

The team added that the woman’s health history, including of dementia, could have made her less aware of the pain that may have been associated with the denture passing down into her stomach.

The medical team also noted, "Dentures are actually one of the most commonly ingested items in adults. Others include bones, chicken or fish, and jewelry."

The team added, "A prior study estimated that 1,500 individuals in the United States die annually from this phenomenon."

There are case reports from other patients' situations that detail the swallowing of partial dentures and the resulting medical procedures performed. 

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The conclusion of one of these reports found, "Nursing home caregivers [should] be aware that even a sizable partial denture can be swallowed and extra vigilance is essential in caring for dementia patients."

Wrote one online commenter about the swallowed dentures in Texas, "How could you possibly swallow something that big?"

The next commenter answered that question: "Common occurrence in the elderly."

Yet another person posted, "Oh, bless her."