Down-in-mouth builder's a grinner

A toothless builder from Auckland has been reunited with his salty dentures - three months after he lost them swimming at a Northland beach.

The false teeth were the surprise catch of Baylys Beach local Bob Clark who netted them while fishing about two weeks ago.

Unable to identify the owner of the dentures using dental records, Mr Clark turned to a local newspaper for help.

With the dentures splashed on the front page of the Dargaville and Districts newspaper, it wasn't long before the owner contacted Mr Clark.

The teeth belonged to a builder in Auckland, Mr Clark said, and he had lost them while swimming at Baylys Beach before Christmas last year.

He had been using old dentures ever since, but had not been able to find a set that fitted him properly.

On the day his dentures featured in the D & D, the man had been to the dentist to inquire about getting a new set.

Before he was able to take the matter any further, a friend rang from Dargaville to ask if those were his teeth on the front page of the newspaper. Worth about $2000, the long-lost dentures have now been repatriated to their grateful owner.

The Auckland builder had thanked Mr Clark and told him the dental plate was stainless steel, not silver as had been thought.

Mr Clark said he had originally thought the dentures had been lost overboard by a sea-sick fisherman. "I thought there's no possible way of finding someone who's lost their teeth like that because they'll be too embarrassed to put an advertisement in the newspaper."