Yes, as bizarre as it may sound, it is cent percent true. Recently a boy from South Chennai complaining about jaw pain was taken to a hospital for examination. The doctors scanned him and even got an X-ray that confirmed that he had over 500 teeth. The teeth were inside a sac that was embedded in his lower jaw.
Dr Prathibha Ramani, head of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital termed them as abnormal teeth. The surgery for removal of the teeth was conducted last month by the team of doctors but before the surgery every tooth was examined on an individual basis. The surgery took around four to five hour’s time to empty the sac and confirm the presence of hundreds of teeth inside the same.
The details of the teeth shared by the hospital say that there were 526 teeth in all and the size varied from 0.1 mm to 15 mm. The smallest of all also had root enamel coat as well as a crown implying that it was tooth. The boy had to remain in the hospital for three days after which he was discharge. This condition as per the experts is called ‘compound composite odontoma’ and is extremely rare. The factors responsible for this conditions is not known but could be environmental or genetic.
The parents also stated that their child did have a swelling in the jaw when he was three years old but they could not do much about it as he would not allow them or doctors to touch him and would never still still for physical examination.
The two surgeons who operated the boy explained the procedure saying ‘’Under general anesthesia, we drilled into the jaw from the top. We did not break the bone from the sides, meaning reconstruction surgery was not required. The sac was removed. You can think of it as a kind of balloon with small pieces inside.”
Dr Senthilnathan, one of the two operating surgeons stated that it was vital to pay attention to dental health and stop ignoring dental issues. Early treatment could help a long way. There is still lack of awareness about dental health particularly in rural areas due to affordability and ignorance. But, with this child all went well as per the doctor and he is now all healthy with 21 teeth.
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*Sourced from the Internet