Doctors in India remove 232 teeth from teen's mouth

MUMBAI (KGO) -- A teenager in India is recovering after having 232 teeth removed from his mouth during a procedure that took six hours.

When the 17-year old started having mouth pain, his family thought it might be cancer.

After more than 18 months, he finally traveled to the city of Mumbai from his village for surgery. That's when doctors discovered the rare condition.

They say the teen's illness is a complex composite odontoma, where a single gum forms lots of teeth. It's described as a sort of benign tumor.

Doctors say it's a world record. The most they've heard of was 37 extra teeth in similar growths.

The teen is now down to a very normal set of 28 teeth.

But doctors say they'll keep watch to make sure the tumor doesn't come back.