Dental Surgeons Extract 232 Teeth from Teen’s Mouth

Dentists removed 232 teeth from a 17-year-old's mouth in Mumbai, India.

Ashik Gavai a Mumbai-based teenager complained of discomfort and swelling in the right side of his face and lower jaw. He consulted local doctors who were unable to detect the exact condition and suggested he seek help from a state-run hospital.  The teen was taken to JJ Hospital where experts discovered he was suffering from a severe form of odontoma, a benign tumor that causes malformation of teeth. Gavai was immediately referred for a molar surgery during which the surgeons noticed hundreds of small marble like teeth. The six hour surgery used a basic chisel and hammer to individually extract each tiny tooth.

"At the final count, we had a total of 232 small pearlies, all independently developing as teeth, coming out of that lone molar," said Sunanda Dhivare-Palwankar, head of the hospital's dental department, reports the Times of India.

Gavai who hails from a humble family of cotton growers, now has 28 teeth left. His dental extraction procedure has set a world record and is due to be submitted to the Guinness World Records.

"I have never seen anything like it in all my years of practice. We were so excited by it. And it was really fun for us to be able to extract them all, one by one," Dr Dhivare-Palwankar told the Washington Post.

Medical data on odontoma surgeries conducted in the past involved removal of 37 teeth.Generally, ondotomas are diagnosed at the age of 14 years and often identified as unerupted tooth. Boys and girls have equally possibility of suffering this condition. Patients of odontoma have delayed eruption of permanent teeth, abnormal teeth positioning, pain and expansion of jugular bone.

Gavai is now recuperating from the surgery and his doctors hope the ondotoma does not reappear.