The case of the missing dentures

They were there. The teeth were there.  How could they go missing? The patient’s dentures were missing.  Where could they be?

Knowing how important those were to her patient’s overall health and ability to eat and talk, Mary Anne Wheeler, (pictured in blue scrubs) an RN at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center-University District in Eugene, Oregon, was intent on solving the mystery.

She had a hunch the missing dentures might have inadvertently gotten tangled into the sheets and been tossed into the laundry. Wheeler enlisted Christina Barker, (pictured in black) supervisor of environmental services, for a search and rescue mission.

Together, they opened bag after bag of linen hoping to find them. Dejected and weary, they gave up the pursuit and returned to their work areas with no clue to the dentures’ whereabouts.

A little while later, Barker got a call from Brian Eheler (pictured with Wheeler) of linen services with good news. He was busy moving bags from one cart to another when he spied something unusual in one bag. He immediately stopped what he was doing and, sure enough, discovered the missing teeth.

Later that same day, the same set of dentures went missing again. Thinking the teeth might have been left on a food tray, Wheeler started a second hunt, this time through bags of trash—and again to no avail. Fortunately, they turned up again during the change of bed linens.

Thanks to Wheeler, Barker and Eheler for going the extra mile to return a patient’s smile.