A 26-year-old Indian woman, Kalpana Balan, recently set a new Guinness World Record for the highest number of teeth in a female’s mouth. With a total of 38 teeth, including four extra mandibular (lower jaw) teeth and two extra maxillary (upper jaw) teeth, she has surpassed the typical adult count by six.
Although her parents were initially surprised by the discovery of the extra teeth and recommended extraction, Kalpana’s dentist advised waiting until they grew out more due to their difficulty in being removed. Despite the challenges posed by food getting trapped between them, Kalpana ultimately decided to keep the extra teeth and expressed her joy at achieving the title as a lifetime achievement.
Ms. Balan still has two unfilled teeth, which 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 affects up to 3.8% of the world’s population. The exact cause of hyperdontia is unknown but is believed to be due to a malfunction in tooth formation.
Meanwhile, Evano Mellone from Canada holds the male record for this title with 41 teeth. This achievement is part of an interesting trend of many other notable news stories that have been making headlines lately.