43-year-old woman dies after swallowing artificial tooth while drinking water

43-year-old woman dies after swallowing artificial tooth while drinking water

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:14.07.2021

A 43-year-old city resident died a day after swallowing her artificial tooth accidentally while drinking water, police said.

S Rajalakshmi of Valasaravakkam had replaced three front teeth with artificial ones nearly seven years ago at a private hospital in Porur. On July 4, she suffered from dizziness and felt nauseous soon after swallowed one of the three artificial teeth by mistake. She was taken to a private hospital.

After going through her test reports, doctors felt there was nothing alarming and discharged her. But she fainted the next day and died on the way to hospital, said a police officer from Royala Nagar station, who is investigating the case.

She is survived by her husband Suresh, 48, a private advertising firm employee, and their two sons. Police have sent the body for autopsy.

Police suspect Rajalakshmi’s artificial tooth could have become loose as it was fixed seven years ago and she could have avoided a hospital visit now due to Covid tests. A case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been registered.

Oral pathologists say the chance of death due to swallowing of dentures is rare unless it reaches the air pipe instead of the food pipe. Delicate tissues in the air pipe might get damaged and subsequent bleeding or asphyxiation may cause death at times, they said.

Dr SM Balaji, an oral surgeon from Balaji Dental & Craniofacial Hospital in Teynampet, said the type of denture had be assessed. “Usually, acrylic removable dentures are liable to cause more damage when swallowed as they have metal clasp. This aspect is very crucial and can be identified only on autopsy or radiological imaging or previous dental records or from patient's care providers.”

Any patient wearing dentures should regularly check with dentists. Any loose denture or tooth should be promptly attended to and the person concerned not wait for an occasion to change it. In case of such swallowing, early identification of swallowed dentures and immediate medical attention can help avoid catastrophic outcomes, he said.

Dentists caution that any loose denture or tooth should be promptly attended to and the person concerned should not wait for long to change it