Doctors Remove Sac Containing 526 Teeth from 7-Year-Old's Jaw
Doctors in Chennai, India, removed a lesion containing 526 teeth from the jaw of a 7-year-old boy.
The surgery, which was performed at Saveetha Dental College on July 11, is the first of its kind to be documented across the world.
The young boy, known as Ravindran, had been complaining of pain and swelling in his lower jaw beginning when he was 3 years old. His parents brought him to the doctors, but Ravindran was uncooperative, preventing any exploratory surgeries.
For the past four years the swelling was left undiagnosed, but when it began to get worse, his parents brought him to the Saveetha Dental College.
According to a news release from the college, the parents were nervous that their young son had cancer.
An X-ray and CT scan showed a tumor with “multiple hard structures” in the lower jaw.
526 teeth removed from 7-year-old boy’s jaw by dentists in India https://t.co/NTDe59pUCD pic.twitter.com/qFX63u3zag
— Howard Farran DDS (@HowardFarran) August 1, 2019
“We were doubtful about the success of the procedure when they showed us the CT scan,” Ravindran’s father told The New Indian Express. “Then somehow we gained courage and went ahead with it.”
The noninvasive surgery to remove the “bag-like specimen,” scientifically known as a compound odontome, took only around 90 minutes.
Thankfully, young Ravindran was able to go home three days after the procedure, which cost his family nothing, and is expected to make a full recovery, although he will require molar implants after he turns 16 years old.
The procedure to examine the contents of the tumor, however, took five hours.
During their extensive search, the oral pathologist found 526 individual teeth-like structures in the almost half-pound sac. The teeth ranged from 1 to 15 millimeters, but each was covered with enamel and had something resembling roots.
“It was reminiscent of pearls in an oyster,” the pathologist said.
This extremely rare procedure brings attention to potential environmental factors that could’ve caused the sac of teeth.
“Though the cause of the condition is not known, genetics could be one of the reasons,” Dr. Pratibha Ramani of the Saveetha Dental College told The New Indian Express. “The environment could also play an important role. We have taken up a study to see if radiation from mobile phone towers is a factor in such conditions.”
526 teeth removed from Chennai boy’s mouth
The swollen right cheek of seven-year-old Ravindranath looked like symptoms of a decayed tooth to his parents.
Read: https://t.co/zmf2PEY0ZU pic.twitter.com/EnHPbjZvHz
— Times of India (@timesofindia) July 31, 2019
The rare phenomenon is already fascinating people across the world, gaining praise for the surgeons and pathologists at the Chennai dental college for their creative and meticulous actions.
The postgraduates involved are already wearing this surgery as a badge of honor.
“This pandora box of miniature teeth is a jewel on our crown,” they said.
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