An 11-year-old girl in Brazil was found to have 81 teeth inside her mouth, surprising doctors with what they described as one of the rarest dental cases ever recorded in medical literature.
The case was reported by doctors from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
Visited a Dentist to Remove a Baby Tooth
According to a Facebook post, the girl, who was 11 years and 8 months old, visited a dentist to remove a remaining baby tooth in her upper jaw.
The scan, however, uncovered an unusual dental structure consisting of 18 baby teeth, 32 adult teeth, and 31 additional ones, totaling an astonishing 81 teeth.
Diagnosed With Multiple Hyperdontia
Doctors identified the condition as multiple hyperdontia, a rare developmental disorder where a person has more teeth than normal.
An adult typically has 32 teeth, but in this case, the girl had nearly triple that amount.
According to VN Express, the research team stated:
“In most cases, patients only have a few extra teeth, but having as many as 31 supernumerary teeth is unprecedented in someone without associated genetic syndromes.”
Genetic Conditions Ruled Out After Tests
Doctors used a CT scan to carefully check where all the girl’s extra teeth were located.
They also ran tests to rule out certain medical conditions that are often linked to the development of extra teeth, such as:
- Cleft palate (a gap in the roof of the mouth),
- Cleidocranial Dysplasia (a hereditary condition which impacts the development of bones and teeth),
- and Gardner syndrome (a rare inherited condition that can cause growths in various parts of the body, including the jaw).
Additionally, her mother has thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder, but doctors also found no connection between that and the girl’s dental issue.
Removal of Extra Teeth Requires Specialized Planning
Doctors explained that removing all the extra teeth must be done with great care to avoid damaging the jawbone.
Some of the extra teeth have not yet erupted and are misshapen, which makes it difficult to distinguish them from normal teeth.
According to the medical report, the treatment will require coordination among specialists in:
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (jaw and facial surgery),
- Orthodontics (tooth and bite alignment),
- Periodontics (gum and bone health), and
- Prosthodontics (restoring or replacing teeth).
The primary goals are to restore proper chewing function, maintain facial structure, and ensure long-term oral health as the child continues to grow.
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