I must admit: I hate toothpicks. I hate seeing them in food because I find them to be dangerous and I hate people using them! This is a really tragedy.
Hmm, that man should have been more careful with toothpick, but it is too late now. There is one thing I don't get about this, why there is even toothpicks on foods anyway? There might be some purposes for like putting a olive on the toothpick and then put on the sandwich, but that is too life risking.
The incredible part is about how is possible that they didn't detect the toothpick in the hospital! It surprises also because Sweden is a country that traditionally has very high standards when it comes to health care and services. I agree, anyway, that using toothpicks on food is not something desirable. I understand they may be practical to keep a sandwich together but they should at least have the traditional flag on top to make their presence more than clear.
This can be very worry some to a lot of people as the use of toothpicks to hold sandwiches together and to just add decoration to some dishes is widely used around the world. I know I take great care to make sure all toothpicks are out of my food but I can see someone missing one. Knowing that a x-ray sees metal objects easier than wooden ones I can see it being missed.
KNtoran, you are right about x-ray. But a toothpick stuck in the throat should be detected by other means. Asking the patient to open his\her mouth and using a portable flashlight (the one that doctors usually use) with the aid of a small mirror is usually enough. They can see fish thorns this way and a toothpick is a giant object in comparison.