Newsletter
MUMBAI, India: As reported online by various Indian newspapers, ear, nose and throat surgeons at a hospital in Mumbai have removed 232 teeth from the mouth of a 17-year-old boy. Surgery revealed that an abnormal growth affecting the right mandibular second molar had led to the development of numerous tiny teeth. To the knowledge of the doctors, there has been no comparable case in the world to date.
According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), a private Indian news agency, Ashik Gavai, a Grade 10 pupil, was admitted to the hospital on 10 July complaining of pain and with an immense red swelling on the right side of his face.
After a series of tests and examinations, the doctors suggested that a complex composite odontoma, a benign odontogenic tumour, was causing the symptoms. During the subsequent 7-hour surgery, they found that the abnormal growth measured about 3.5 × 2 cm. The surgeons removed 232 teeth, with even more developing, from the tumour. As the numerous small teeth were difficult to count, the doctors believe that in total there may have been more than 350 teeth.
The doctors said that the boy had first noticed the swelling about a year and a half ago. However, high costs prevented him from seeking medical care and the tumour had grown unabated.
IANS reported that the boy’s medical expenses were covered by Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana, a health scheme that ensures free care for low-income families, which was introduced by the Maharashtra government last year.
Odontomas are usually asymptomatic and are often discovered during routine dental X-rays. Several factors, including local trauma, infection, family history and genetic mutation, may cause anomalous tissue development in odontomas.
