By Tim Binnall
Doctors in India treating a seven-year-old boy for a strangely swollen jaw were astounded to find that he had a tumor which contained 526 teeth! The amazing discovery reportedly took place at a hospital in the city of Chennai, where the unnamed youngster's parents had brought him in for an examination after he'd complained about prolonged pain in his jaw that began when he was three and grew increasingly uncomfortable.
An x-ray of the boy's mouth revealed that there was an odd growth in his jaw. Upon removing the unsettling sac, doctors were stunned to learn that it contained a whopping 526 teeth which encompassed a fairly large range of sizes. Remarkably, one of the doctors observed, "even the smallest piece had a crown, root and enamel coat indicating it was a tooth."
While the jaw-dropping extraction has sparked headlines around the world due to the sheer number of teeth that the doctors removed from the youngster's mouth, experts say that his condition is not altogether unheard of and is known to dental experts as a compound composite odontoma. According to the hospital, the boy has since gone home following the surgery and appears to be free of jaw pain for the first time in years.
In case anyone was wondering about the proverbial bill that the boy's parents may have to pay by way of the Tooth Fairy making a visit to their home, they're actually in luck. That's because the act of putting a lost tooth under one's pillow and receiving money in return is primarily an American tradition. In India, children either throw their lost chompers onto the roof while making a wish or bury it near a tree for good luck.