80 Teeth Pulled: 7-Year-Old Boy Has 80 Teeth Removed From Jaw

A young boy had 80 teeth pulled from his jaw by a doctor on Friday. The 7-year-old had a four-hour procedure to have all of his teeth removed from his upper jaw at Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, The Independent reports.

This is the second time in 2014 that India is in the news over this rare condition which afflicted two boys. As Inquistr wrote back in July, a teenager had 232 teeth removed from his mouth for the same type of procedure that is known as odontoma. It’s a condition in which a tumor affecting the jaw or gums can cause a “concentration of tooth-like structures.”

Dr. Maheshwari tells The Times of India that prior to the necessary surgery, the boy — named Vivek — had visited the doctor’s office five days ago because of an abscess he had in his upper jaw. When the doctor examined his jaw further, the 7-year-old’s problem was diagnosed a case of odontoma.

“The patient had visited us five days ago with abscess in upper jaw. Upon medical investigations, it was diagnosed as a case of odontoma. We planned the surgery and removed 80 teeth after clearing abscess, which is rare in tender age.”

When Vivek’s village attempted to heal his health condition, nothing worked. So, he was taken to MY Hospital, and it was discovered that he had a tumor on the left side of his mouth.

What happened in the event of both the Vivek and the teenage boy’s condition is that a cluster of cells created a significant mass of tissues that can be arranged in an abnormal way and make complications.

Vivek’s tumor was reportedly 5×3.5 cm in size. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons were also part of the medical team who pulled the 80 teeth.

Dr. Ankit Khasgiwala explains that if Vivek had waited longer to visit the doctor for his dental surgery, there would’ve been a lot more teeth causing problems.

“Teeth forming cells in such a large number are not found in kids of this age group. Had the patient visited us four years later, at least 200-odd teeth could have developed. The surgery is difficult in such cases as jaw becomes weak, heightening chances of fractures.”

It’s hard to imagine anyone having a total of 80 teeth in their mouth — or how a human jaw can even accommodate that many. For a 7-year-old boy, that many teeth had to be anything but comfortable!

[Image via The Independent]