title: Partial denture swallowed by patient with dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present a rare case of a male dementia patient in a nursing home who swallowed a partial denture which lodged in the airway.
  
  
  METHODS
  During breakfast, a patient with moderate dementia experienced a sore throat, labored breathing, and difficulty swallowing. Uncertainty about the cause of these problems was exacerbated by the patient's cognitive losses, his reduced oro-motor function, and awareness of caregivers that the possible involvement of a denture of this size was unlikely. At the beginning of the third day, he developed a low-grade fever and was placed on antibiotics. A chest x-ray was negative.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the fourth day, a flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing was performed, which revealed the partial denture resting in the hypopharynx on the patient's vocal cords.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Along with pneumonia and viral bronchitis, a swallowed denture needs to be in the differential diagnosis of a dementia patient experiencing difficulty swallowing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nursing home caregivers be aware that even a sizable partial denture can be swallowed and extra vigilance is essential in caring for dementia patients.
authors.affiliation: Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saunders
keywords: dementia; denture; geriatric dentistry