Indian dentists extract 526 teeth from boy’s mouth

The boy was brought into the hospital after complaining of pain and swelling in his jaw. It was discovered that he was suffering from compound composite odontoma. “The tumour-like growth prevented permanent molar teeth growth in the boy in the affected side,” said Dr P. Senthilnathan of Saveetha Dental College and Hospital’s Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in an interview with the New Indian Express. “X-ray and CT scan showed multiple, rudimentary teeth in a bag-like tissue. It took 5 hours to remove all the minute teeth from the bag-like structure. The weight of the growth was 200 grams.”

At the age of 3, the boy had been taken to a nearby hospital when his parents had noticed slight swelling in the same area, but he did not undergo any procedures, partly because of his youth. To the knowledge of the hospital, the total of 526 teeth removed from the boy’s mouth is unmatched by any other case, though a 17-year-old boy in Mumbai had 232 teeth removed in 2014.

“The teeth were of variable sizes that ranged from smallest at 0.1 mm to largest 3 mm. They had a small crown, enamel and a small root,” said Dr Pratibha Ramani, head of the hospital’s Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, in an interview with The Guardian.

Ramani commented that, surprisingly, the boy was barely in any discomfort. “The only thing which was bothering him was that the tooth on that side had not erupted, it was empty, and [he had] occasional pain, and there was slight swelling that was increasing in size,” she added.

The boy, who now has just 21 teeth, was discharged from the hospital after three days and is recovering well.

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