Doctors Find Extra Tooth in Guy's Nose

Saudi man's extra tooth was giving him nosebleeds, report says
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2014 1:57 PM CDT
Doctors Find Extra Tooth in Really Odd Place
   (Shutterstock)

Doctors had strange news for a 22-year-old Saudi man who came in complaining of a nosebleed or two every month: He had a half-inch mass of bone in his nose, LiveScience reports. After consulting with dentists, the doctors decided he had a tooth in his nasal cavity and extracted it under general anesthesia. No muss, no fuss: A published report found that the patient recovered and the nosebleeds were gone after three months. "It's an unusual case of an extra tooth—certainly, the most impressive intranasal photo I think I've ever seen of one," says John Hellstein, a dentist.

Studies show that extra teeth aren't so uncommon—0.15% to 3.9% of people have them—but Hellstein says it's unusual to see one growing through the nasal floor. The man probably had a mesiodens, a typical extra tooth that grows around the incisors, says Hellstein. It's not clear what causes extra teeth, but the report points to causes like trauma, infection, and genetic factors, the Daily Mail reports. Rare as it is, an extra tooth in the nose can lead to symptoms like nasal deformities, smelly mucus, nosebleeds, and headaches. But don't expect to find one: "I've never seen the tooth actually in there," Hellstein says. (Read about a teenager who had 232 extra teeth removed from his head.)

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