Dentures save man from fatal gun shot

Updated on: 31 May,2011 08:23 AM IST |
Agencies |

Of all the things you'd expect to save someone's life -- a lifejacket, a bullet-proof vest, a motorcycle helmet -- would you ever include the humble pair of dentures?

Of all the things you'd expect to save someone's lifeu00a0-- a lifejacket, a bullet-proof vest, a motorcycle helmet -- would you ever include the humble pair of dentures?u00a0Well, it seems like we might have to after reports of some fake gnashers coming to the rescue of a Brazilian barkeep. An elderly Brazilian man shot in the face escaped death when his dentures deflected a bullet headed for his brain.

Saviour: A hospital official says that if the bullet hadn't hit Zacarias
Pacheco de Moraes' dentures, it would haveu00a0 pierced his brain.
Representation pic

A hospital official says that 81-year-old Zacarias Pacheco de Moraes was shot on Thursday while working in a bar he owns in the small western city of Alta Floresta. Jose Marcos da Silva was quoted by Globo TV's G1 website as saying that the bullet probably would have pierced Moraes' brain if it hadn't first hit his dentures before lodging in his throat.

The official said the bullet will not be removed immediately because surgery right now would be too risky.
Silva said the patient was in stable condition but in danger of losing part of his eyesight because of the bullet's trajectory. He did not elaborate.