Who is responsible if nursing home broke dentures?

Whenever my Mom would break her dentures, usually it was a wire hook that broke off, or a tooth on the denture that had snapped as this was a metal brace type denture. As I had mentioned earlier, Mom was constantly removing her dentures during the day, so they aged pretty quickly. Thank goodness Mom's dentist had a lot of patience with her, because we sure didn't :0

ferris1 ~ It is NOT impossible for dentures to break. The staff could have dropped them. They could have fallen out of her mouth, if not fitted correctly. There may have been a weak spot, when they were made.

They DO break, they're a man made material, and they're not made of lead. I've seen my friends dentures, that completely broke in half.

Speaking as a 24hr dentur wearer I would say your mom needs them now to eat well bring her to get a new pair asp don't worry who should pay take them off your taxs as medical care I real think the place she stays is not responsible for replacement unless you see a staff member throw them across a room then yes sorry just think of them as a gift of Love of couse if that get lost every time you turnaround you better talk to the tooth fairy or get denal insurance for her place remember your mouth changes with age and she should see a dentist evey year if its not an aall care place its your job to do this believe it or not nursing homes don't have get medical care its your job to get her to doctors

Contact your State's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. They are one of the oversight programs for nursing homes and residential care facilities. In our state, the facilities used to be responsible for replacing dentures if they caused the damage or loss. If facility turns out to be responsible for replacement, you may run into much resistance. I've seen damaged dentures "go out for replacement" for months, while patient is unable to eat solid foods. This can seriously affect their health and well-being, so get the State agency involved right away if you have any problems or questions. If you don't get results from your Ombudsman, then go above them to the State Health Dept. The most important thing is for patient to be able to eat as soon as possible, no matter who pays for replacement, initially. Best of Luck.

The renter's insurance had a deductable of $300. She had a Kindle Fire stolen, but we couldn't prove it was not somewhere in the room since she is a packrat of sorts. We insured her jewelry as well, and itemized separately. Really the facility (a memory care at that time) was not going to cover any theft or damage to personal items because we are actually considered "renter's" in those rooms for legal purposes.

I wondered about this is when my mother was in a nursing home and was transferred to Boston for medical care her dentures disappeared and neither the nursing home or the hospital was held at fault - my sister ended up having to pay for them. And another time for her eyeglasses. I would have thought since she was completely in other's care, that they had to audit what she came with and were thus accountable for them and their replacement. I did not even think about having something like renters insurance needed to cover the costs.

Renter's insurance: This brings up the good reminder that they expect you to carry renter's insurance when you live in an assisted living (for damage or theft for one thing). I was surprised about that. Does anyone know if that applies in Skilled Nursing?

I'm sorry, I know dentures can be quite expensive, and it would be really nice if they would accept responsibility when they broke something. Don't they have insurance at the home?

It is almost impossible to "break" dentures. The very nature of them makes them very durable. If they are broken, it is due to use or someone/something put pressure on them. When you signed her into the nursing home, you took responsibility for her personal items. Get her some new dentures and let her begin eating again.

WEll, can you provide more details? Is there any proof that the staff rather than momser dropped/broke the dentures?

Grace + peace,
bob

Check the admitting paperwork to see what items the nursing home will be responsible.

Breaking dentures isn't easy, unless the dentures were old and became loose. My Mom kept breaking her's as she would remove her dentures after each and every meal, even after having a snack during the day which she did frequently.... her dentist was beside himself as he just couldn't seem to get through to her in the past 30 years she needed to wear them all day to get use to them.