MUMBAI, INDIA – A teenager in India had more than 200 “teeth” removed from his jaw on Monday, after an abnormal condition began causing him too much pain.

Ashiq Gavai, 17, had experienced swelling in his jaw for 18 months, and the pain grew unbearable a month ago. His father told the Mumbai Mirror his family feared the boy had cancer.

His father took his son from their village of Buldhana to Mumbai and the dental unit at J.J. Hospital. Dental surgeons discovered that Ashiq had complex composite odontoma, a benign dental tumor. The teen required surgery.

“Once we opened it, little pearl-like teeth started coming out, one by one. Initially we were collecting them … But then we started to get tired. We counted 232 teeth,” said Dr. Sundanda Dhiware, J.J. Hospital’s ear, nose and throat department head.

He had surgery on Monday, where two dental surgeons and two assisting surgeons removed the 232 denticles from his lower right jaw. The surgery lasted more than six hours, and surgeons said had he waited longer, the growth could have broken his jaw.

People with odontoma have a maximum of 25 to 37 teeth extracted and the growth is found in the upper jaw, causing Ashiq’s case to be a medical anomaly.

Odontoma causes difficulties eating, swallowing and swelling of the face, but it’s not life-threatening. It will take Ashiq’s jaw three to four months to heal. The dangerous surgery could have broken the teen’s jaw.

Ashiq now has the normal amount of teeth, with 28, but Dr. Vandana Thorawade said the tumor could return. Regular check-ups are now a must for the teen, and he will have caps placed where actual teeth were removed. He is now on a liquid diet of coconut milk and other fluids.

The surgery was covered under the India’s government health insurance plan for the poor, called Rajiv Gandhi Jeevdayi Arogya Yojana. The surgery in a private hospital would have cost the father, a farm laborer, 250,000 rupees, or $4,000, at a private hospital, according to CNN.

Surgeons at the hospital have sent the information to Guinness Book of Records to see if the extraction meets a world record.

Source: http://www.kpho.com/story/26116006/indian-teen-has-232-teeth-removed-from-jaw