He has to undergo at least seven more operations to get all the excess teeth out, and after that he may require to wear orthodontics to correct his bite.
If you’re like most people, chances are you had a set of 20 baby teeth, and when those fell off grew 32 adult teeth in replacement. 9 year-old Johnchris Carl Quirante from Cebu, Philippines is not like most people.
Photo courtesy: ABS-CBN News
For starters, he has 300 teeth. It may sound bizarre, but it is known to happen. He has what is called Hyperdontia.
It is the condition of having supernumerary teeth, or teeth that appear in addition to the regular number of teeth. They can appear in any area of the dental arch and can affect any dental organ.
Photo courtesy: ABS-CBN News
People who have it usually also have another condition, such as a cleft palate or Gardner’s Syndrome (which forms tumors that aren’t cancer).
The treatment is to get the extra teeth removed and use orthodontics to correct the bite.
Photo courtesy: ABS-CBN News
So far Johnchris has had 40 of his 300 teeth extracted in a pyogenic granuloma treatment, an invasive procedure which involves surgically removing the teeth and using stitches to close the wound.
He has to undergo at least seven more operations to get all the excess teeth out, and after that he may require to wear orthodontics to correct his bite.
One would think that this condition would hamper the nine-year-old’s daily life, but it is the contrary. Not only does he go to school on a regular basis, but he also excels in class according to his teachers.
One day, he dreams to be a civil engineer.
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