Earlier this month, dentists in India pulled more than 500 teeth from a 7-year-old boy's mouth, according to the New Indian Express. On July 11, P. Ravindran was taken to Saveetha Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, where he was treated for swelling on his lower right jaw.
"We have never seen these many teeth in any one site," Dr. Pratibha Ramani, a professor and Head of Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, told the Times of India.
Dentists ordered an X-Ray and CT-Scan, which revealed a "bag-like structure" in the boy's mouth that contained 526 teeth, P. Senthilnathan, a professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, told the New Indian Express.The condition is known as compound composite odontoma,
"The tumor-like growth prevented permanent molar teeth growth in the boy in the affected side. X-Ray and CT scan showed multiple, rudimentary teeth in a bag-like tissue," Senthilnathan told the New India Express.
At that point, doctors determined surgery was necessary to treat the rare condition. His parents initially agreed to it, but it took "several hours" to convince the boy.
Senthilnathan told the New India Express that they caught the condition in the early stages. The procedure, which required general anesthesia, took about an-hour-and-a-half. After, it took the surgeons five hours to remove the 526 teeth from the "sac."
"The teeth were in different sizes that varied between 0.1 mm to 15mm," she said "They looked like pearls in an oyster. Even the smallest piece had a crown, root and an enamel coating like a tooth"
He now has 21 teeth, according to the Times of India. For context, most children have about 20 teeth and adults have 32, according to Healthline.
"Though the cause of the condition is not known, genetics could be one of the reasons," Dr. Ramani said. "The environment could also play an important role. We have taken up a study to see if radiation from mobile phone towers is a factor in such conditions."
According to the New Indian Express, dentists expect that the only long-term side effect is that the boy may require molar implants when he turns 16.
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