wearing a dead relative's dentures..
By Cutie18f
@Cutie18f (9551)
Philippines
November 30, 2012 10:09am CST
This post is an offshoot of another discussion asking whether it is okay to wear the clothes of someone who just died. Well, my discussion is all about an old aunt of mine who was so poor she could not buy false teeth for herself. I was just a kid when this incident happened but I could still remember the story because I was so grossed out by her request to a cousin of hers, another aunt of mine, who was in her death bed fighting for her life. My toothless aunt asked my other dying aunt if she could have her dentures or false teeth. False teeth at this time was a removable set. The surviving cousin got the nod from her dying cousin who, when she stopped breathing, was relinquished of her dentures. My toothless aunt immediately washed the dentures, fitted it and voila, she started smiling again.
I found the incident quite gross because I thought I would never do that. However, this aunt of mine, in her desperation to have teeth again, made this very strange request. What do you think of this?
13 responses
@swetify620 (302)
• Australia
1 Dec 12
i am just thinking maybe your aunt is a funny person,but oh no,i can't wear someone false teeth..im pretty sure her cousins lots of stuff left but why your aunt select the dentures?i could really imagine it..even if we just say that,it was really meaningful to her you can kept it but not wearing those dentures.we just think about proper hygience!!!
@swetify620 (302)
• Australia
2 Dec 12
i imagine so,well rest in peace to the owner of the dentures hopefully she undestood what your aunt doing:)
@911Ricki (13588)
• Canada
1 Dec 12
Yes, I find that rather gross as well. Most dentures wouldn't fit another person properly. They are fitted for that persons mouth even if they lost weight, gained weight, and even got very sick they wouldn't fit the person who they were meant for. I know when my grandfather got sick he never wore his dentures because they never fit. I guess the part here, is that she asked permission, rather than just taking them.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
2 Dec 12
False teeth can be quite expensive, but it still seems a rather drastic measure to use those belonging to someone else. I am not a squeamish person but I think I would prefer not to have teeth rather than go to those extremes.
They would not be very comfortable either because false teeth are made according to moulds taken of a person's gums, so they would be quite painful until your gums had adjusted to the pressure of the indentations.
I have seen similar things in sitcoms, but never known it in real life. I think I would stick to eating soup.
@aabuda (1722)
• Philippines
2 Dec 12
I think there's no problem to that especially that they are related to each other and that your dying aunt have granted the request.
@habibti320 (925)
• United States
1 Dec 12
While all of us would rather not be in that situation, I think it was a good thing for your aunt's relative to be able to help her with such a problem.
@Livinglifex3 (80)
• United States
30 Nov 12
Oh my. When I read the title I laughed a little and I
Was sort of grossed out. However after reading
The entire post I'm still grossed out but I see it was
A matter of necessity. I think that such situations bring
Things back into perspective; there is always someone
Is doing a little worse than you so we should be grateful
For all that we.
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
30 Nov 12
I actually ended up feeling quite sorry for your aunt, things were that bad, and she was that desperate to resort to wearing someone elses false teeth, I am quite surprised they fitted in the circumstance. In the olden days people had to do drastic things to make ends meet that we wouldn't even consider nowadays, times were hard in the old days so I can fully understand why she needed to do that.
@mzz663 (2772)
• United States
30 Nov 12
I think it's kind of gross, too. I, myself am not sure I would be able to wear someone else's dentures if I had to. It's hard for me to even touch them and at times, I had a job where it really was kind of gross where I had to remove and clean them for patients, that was bad enough. I guess, in desperation, it would work, some people like to share food and utensils and have no problem with it, I do. Maybe they looked at it the same way as using the same utensils and maybe every time this aunt of yours smiled, she had thoughts of the aunt that had passed away.
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
30 Nov 12
Sounds gross indeed.
but we cannot blame your aunt for doing so.
She desperately wanted to have one, but cannot afford.
Maybe in some desperate cases people can do impossible things.
@FrugalMommy (1438)
• United States
30 Nov 12
Oh, gosh. I can't imagine taking someone else's dentures and using them. I don't even like to share things like drinks or food with close family members. Just the thought of using something so personal is making me feel a little sick to my stomach. 
Never mind that dentures are usually custom fitted for the wearer, so anyone else would probably find them really uncomfortable to wear... 
But you know what? As long as your aunt was okay with it, and it made her happy, I don't see anything wrong with it. I bet every time she looks in a mirror and sees her new smile she remembers her cousin. 
Never mind that dentures are usually custom fitted for the wearer, so anyone else would probably find them really uncomfortable to wear...
But you know what? As long as your aunt was okay with it, and it made her happy, I don't see anything wrong with it. I bet every time she looks in a mirror and sees her new smile she remembers her cousin. 
@gpldeguzman (168)
• Qatar
30 Nov 12
It is really gross! I don't believe that it fits her because each individual has his/her own measurement of the gums because fabricationg dentures. It is not like a dress that instantly fit. Sometimes, in fitting the patient's own denture tha dentist is having deifficulty, how much more fitting other's? It's absurd!
@Cutie18f (9551)
• Philippines
30 Nov 12
I don't know about fitting someone else's dentures because I have never done that, but when she put the whole thing in her mouth, the dentures just went in. I hope you can imagine the whole thing, it's the whole upper and lower set and they just fitted into her toothless mouth.
@devonavis (1854)
• Greece
1 Dec 12
This is really gross! Im sorry but it is.
First, Its not advisable by dentists.
Second, For health purpose, though they're relatives but the other might have some sicknesses.
Third, Fourth and Fifth, Its really gross! haha
@Ahana123 (139)
• India
1 Dec 12
I have never heard anything of this sort before. You Aunt must be desperate to get the dentures due to some personal reasons but happy receiving the same at the end of the day.Human mind is really difficult to read & we do not know which action makes an individual happy under such situation.
