In India, dentists have found 526 teeth hidden in a pocket inside the jaw of a seven-year-old child. The latter suffered from an extremely rare condition called compound ondontome.
So few people enjoy going to the dentist, the appointment rarely ends in such a bad surprise as that which a seven-year-old boy in India had the right to. While complaining of jaw pain, doctors discovered 526 teeth hidden in a pocket inside his jaw, reported CNN.
Last month, a young Indian went with his parents to the hospital in Chennai, a city in the south of the country. The child suffers from an inflammation of his lower jaw at the level of the molars. By doing an x-ray, the doctors discovered a pocket inside his jaw filled with “abnormal teeth”, says doctor Prathiba Ramani, head of oral and maxillofacial pathologies at Saveetha Dental College Hospital. “We had never seen so many teeth in one place“she explains to Times of India.
His parents then explained to the doctors that they had noticed an inflammation of the child’s jaw when he was only three years old. However, the latter not holding up while the doctor tried to examine him, nothing had been done.
A general anesthetic to pierce the upper jaw
Armed with this information, surgeons operate on it, free of charge. “Under general anesthesia, we pierced the upper jaw,” explains Dr. Senthilnathan, head of the hospital’s oral and maxillofacial surgery department who participated in the operation, which lasted five hours. “We didn’t fracture the bone on the sides, which meant there was no need for reconstructive surgery. The sac was removed. You can imagine it as a kind of balloon with little pieces to inside,” he said.
By emptying the pocket, the doctors discover a “total of 526 teeth ranging from 0.1 millimeters to 15 millimeters”. “They looked like pearls in an oyster. Even the smallest piece had a crown, a root and a layer of enamel like a real tooth.“, explains Prathiba Ramani
Three days after the operation, the young boy returned home with 21 healthy teeth. He should be fully recovered very quickly, say the doctors. The latter, however, consider the need for molar implants around the age of 16 years. Indeed, two molars could be missing in the lower right jaw.
A disease that could have been caused by radiation
The very rare condition from which this young Indian suffered is called compound ondontome. It is a tumor made up of tissues found in teeth such as enamel, dentin, pulp tissue and cementum of the mouth. Experts still do not know its origin: it could be genetic or due to environmental factors.
“We undertook a study to determine if radiation emitted by mobile phone towers could be a factor in such conditions,” says Prathiba Ramani.
In 2014, a 17-year-old Indian had surgery for a complex ondontoma in Bombay. He had 232 teeth lodged in his gums pulled out. “I had never seen such a thing in my 30-year career,” said the doctor in charge.
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