26-year-old Indian woman, Kalpana Balan, has recently set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of teeth in a female’s mouth. She surpassed the typical adult count by six with a total of 38 teeth, including four extra mandibular (lower jaw) teeth and two extra maxillary (upper jaw) teeth. Despite facing challenges with eating due to food getting trapped between her extra teeth during her teenage years, she ultimately decided to keep them and has expressed her happiness at achieving the record as a lifetime achievement.
Kalpana’s parents were surprised by the discovery of her extra teeth and recommended extraction, but her dentist suggested waiting until they grew out more to prevent any potential complications that could arise from removal. While Ms. Balan still has two unfilled teeth, this means she may have the potential to extend her record in the future. The medical term for having extra teeth is hyperdontia or polydontia, and it is reported that up to 3.8% of the world’s population have one or more supernumerary teeth. The exact cause of hyperdontia is not known, but it is thought to result from a malfunction in the tooth formation process.
Evano Mellone from Canada holds the male record for this title with 41 teeth. This achievement is part of a trend of many interesting news stories that highlight unique individuals who have achieved remarkable feats in their lives.