Doctors remove 526 'tooth-like structures' from 7-year-old boy's mouth
A 7-year-old boy in India had 526 tooth-like structures removed from his mouth, according to doctors.
The unidentified boy's parents took him to the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, because they feared a swelling of their son's jaw might have been cancer. Surgeons found a "well-defined bag-like mass" in the boy's jaw and removed it during surgery, the hospital said in a press release Thursday.
"On further evaluation by the oral pathologists, and to their utmost surprise, the bag revealed 526 tooth-like structures," the hospital said. "In the pathologists’ own words, 'it was reminiscent of pearls in an oyster.'"
It took the doctors five hours to remove all the minute teeth from the bag, according to the hospital in the city formerly known as Madras. The teeth varied from 1mm to 15mm in size, each resembling a tooth with a crown covered by enamel and a root-like structure.
"This is the first-ever case to be documented worldwide, where so many minute teeth were found in a single individual," the hospital said. "This rare lesion is termed as 'compound odontome.'"
According to a case study from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a compound odontoma is considered a developmental anomaly where tumors made of enamel and dentin are formed. Odontomas are typically detected in people by the age of 20 but can be diagnosed at any age.
A 7-year-old boy in India had 526 tooth-like structures removed from his mouth, according to doctors.
The unidentified boy's parents took him to the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, because they feared a swelling of their son's jaw might have been cancer. Surgeons found a "well-defined bag-like mass" in the boy's jaw and removed it during surgery, the hospital said in a press release Thursday.
"On further evaluation by the oral pathologists, and to their utmost surprise, the bag revealed 526 tooth-like structures," the hospital said. "In the pathologists’ own words, 'it was reminiscent of pearls in an oyster.'"
It took the doctors five hours to remove all the minute teeth from the bag, according to the hospital in the city formerly known as Madras. The teeth varied from 1mm to 15mm in size, each resembling a tooth with a crown covered by enamel and a root-like structure.
"This is the first-ever case to be documented worldwide, where so many minute teeth were found in a single individual," the hospital said. "This rare lesion is termed as 'compound odontome.'"
According to a case study from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a compound odontoma is considered a developmental anomaly where tumors made of enamel and dentin are formed. Odontomas are typically detected in people by the age of 20 but can be diagnosed at any age.
