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In 2019 my father had several dental appointments to remove all his teeth. After letting the gums heal and having a template made his new teeth were fitted Jan 2020. He loved them and was very happy. Dad is immobile and is totally reliant on nursing staff. He removed his dentures because of discomfort one day in May 2020. They weren't placed in container by staff and haven't been seen since..


Was told by the facility that they aren't liable nor will they finance a new denture set. I feel this is insensitive and unfair. My father wants his teeth, he's 85, he can't enjoy much so at least let him enjoy his food..


This is not replacing a pair of shoes or item of clothing, it is replacing part of my father..

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There is no way that anyplace can be responsible for replacing dentures for patients. I have been a nurse and have seen them in garbage, flushed down toilets ruining the system temporarily, left on dinner trays necessitating a thorough search of a kitchen hard at work clearing trays. I have gone through more garbage than I can tell you. It is awful and it is sad, but likely the dentures were left on a tray and got shoveled into the garbage. Be sure that kitchen is aware of this loss. In my experience it is where teeth show up.
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He removed his dentures and placed them... where?

That is a rhetorical question: it would be completely unreasonable to expect you to know. But you must surely equally understand that it is not possible for aides to monitor the whereabouts of every denture at all times. Less than two weeks ago my blood ran cold when I stopped myself throwing an "empty" potato chips packet away in the nick of time - my client had been eating them, a piece got stuck under her dental plate, so she took it out, and where better to keep it safe than in the packet?

Dentures in even my limited experience have already turned up:
in a shoe
inside a pillow case
dressing gown pockets x dozens
spectacles case
wrapped in paper napkins on plates x gazillions
between bed and bedside table
between cushions


So we might know where to start looking. But you cannot expect a facility to shake out and search every paper napkin, every waste paper basket, every plate and mug, every laundry item as a matter of routine.

The key thing is that your father needs his denture. Order another one from the Jan 2020 mould and don't waste any more time arguing about the bill.

To prevent its happening again (or help prevent it, anyway) try to highlight on his care plan that a) he wears full dentures b) he takes them out c) he stashes them; so that the staff are encouraged to develop a routine of checking he's wearing them and, if he isn't and he should be, putting out an APB for them before the garbage is collected or the laundry is taken away.
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disgustedtoo Jul 2020
"But you cannot expect a facility to shake out and search every paper napkin, every waste paper basket, every plate and mug, every laundry item as a matter of routine."

Agreed that no one could possibly search everything all the time, esp when dementia is at play... Mom started with taking out the hearing aid and not remembering where it was. When I would visit and she didn't have it, I would search her room - on bedside table, under it or the bed, sometimes IN the bed. One staff member located it in the bed while making it up, as it was squealing when her hand was near it. That only works when the battery is working. I would find it and sometimes needed to replace the battery as it was dead. Once she told me she didn't wear one (has for MANY years!) when I asked where it was, other times she'd ask where did I find it.

Initially she was okay dealing with it, but eventually I asked that they replace the battery every two weeks, per the provider. Nope. Eventually I got the email saying it went through the laundry and was ruined. While I agree that you can't check everything, shaking out the sheets before putting them through the wash would make sense in ANY situation, as there are things that might end up in there that you don't want going through the washer/dryer (those are expensive to fix or replace!)

The replacement was rechargeable, so I gave the charger to the nurse, otherwise it might get lost or tossed by mom. They WERE aware that she often took it out, even at the table during meals. Sure enough, a few months later, it was AWOL, most likely tossed wrapped in a tissue or napkin! We had a second one (she only wore one), and asked about them reimbursing the $400 needed to get a replacement, just in case. Nope. So, they have it, I don't think she often wears it if at all now, and I won't spend any more money on another. She'll be 97 (going on 2) next month. It sucks, but no point spending money on something they won't even give to her and "watch" over.
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Sadly, the facility simply doesn't have the manpower to make checks on things like dentures, hearing aids, removal bridges..etc.

This reminds me of my kids' popping their retainers out of their mouths so they could eat lunch. In the hubbub of getting ready to move out of the cafeteria, they'd forget the retainer and of course the school wasn't responsible for my kids scatterbrained behavior.

I don't think any NH could stand the cost of the replacement of the MANY things that go missing.

I'm sorry for you and dad. Dentures are so expensive. Along with hearing aids--getting old is expensive in so many ways.
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Usually the contract spells out facility is not responsible for lost dentures, glasses, cell phones. They leave it up to the residents and their friends, family to be responsible for these item(s) Check the contract if you have it available.
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DrBenshir Jul 2020
BUT the family would not have been allowed in to be responsible for anything due to covid lockdown! If there is a contract that protects them you have no choice but to order another set for Dad. I would also make a written complaint to the governing board of the facility, since this is a situation where the staff is solely responsible and family was locked out. They probably weren't even notified at the time the dentures actually went missing.
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Wickham, check your own home insurance policy. I know that my policy has a clause that insures "a parent, son, daughter, spouse, adult interdependent partner or dependent of the Named Insured, who resides in a nursing home, skilled nursing facility, or intermediate or long-term care facility".
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Staff at facilities are NOT responsible for personal items - which includes dentures, glasses and hearing aids.

While staff do try to be careful when they handle these items, they have no control over it if a client decides to put his dentures somewhere illogical where they cannot be found. For all you know, your father could have thrown them into a nearby wastebasket. It is unrealistic to expect staff to be pawing through every room wastebasket daily in search for lost personal items.

You father needs a large denture container with his name displayed on it in big letters, and you need to tell him to always place them in the container if he takes them out of his mouth.
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lmb1234 Jul 2020
Seriously, though. I had the same problem with my mother, and no amount of telling her where to put them ever changed her putting them in her robe pocket and/or being thrown inadvertently into a trash can, as others have said. After replacing some 4 sets, at a cost of around $1,000 each, we had to make the heartbreaking, difficult decision to not replace them. Just trying to take her for fittings, adjustments, etc., at 97 with advanced dementia, was simply too much for us.
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Wickham, you don't give any details, like if your father has any cognitive decline. Without having accidentally witnessed what happened it would unfair to blame the staff. Often elders will remove the dentures and put them on their food tray or plate. If the napkin goes on top of that, they get accidentally tossed. It's not that staff's job to check the mouth of every resident after every meal. Please realize that they have turnover in staffing and new people will not even know who has dentures. I'm not sure if his dentist has a "copy" of what was made for him (and I realize it will be expensive) but this would be the easiest/fastest way to replace them. If it is at all a financial option, I strongly recommend implants. I've seen a denture-like plate that they permanently anchor in the gums, so that they aren't anchoring each individual tooth. This will not be the last time you have adventures with dentures. As LOs lose their memories or develop dementia, they will actually take them out, wrap them in something and purposefully hide them. I'm so sorry for this disappointment. I hope you can find a workable solution so your dad can have his teeth and dignity back.
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gdaughter Jul 2020
This is very short-sighted guidance. You can't just "do" implants which are extremely expensive if done well, even if one is financially able. You must have the proper bone structure. In addition you the patient here is described as immobile and dependent on others. This is a surgical procedure exposing him to unnecessary surgical risks as well, unless he and the family believe all that overrides the other concerns.
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Not sure what the answer is here, but I suggest carefully reading the contract with the facility to see if loss of personal items is addressed at all. It's not like stealing a piece of jewelry, dentures are something only valuable to the wearer. As you say, it's a piece of your father!
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Just food for thought, where would this end if they took responsibility for things lost? My mother “ lost” her glasses constantly. Usually we found them in a seat cushion but whose responsibility is that? IMO it’s a bit much to expect a worker to do more than a cursory check for items like that, especially since the patient could have wrapped them up, put them under their pillow , who knows where! In many ALFs they’d need a full time staff just to look for things.
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Did the dentures have his name on them? I never thought about putting a name on dentures till I had to wear a temporary plate after dental implant surgery. The dentist had engraved my name on it. My mom periodically breaks her top plate and the last time it happened, I had her dentist engrave my mom’s name on them. Before Covid19, my daily visit occasionally included a hands and knees assisted hunt for her glasses or teeth. Yuck 🤢.

In addition to the nightly denture soak, I would use an ultraviolet denture sanitizer.
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