Tiny teeth that were in the tumour. — Photo courtesy of the Hùng Vương General Hospital

PHÚ THỌ — Doctors from the Hùng Vương General Hospital in the northern province of Phú Thọ have removed a teeth tumour from a 12-year-old patient.

The patient's upper molars had not yet grown, so they went to the hospital for a check-up.

Doctors said a dental X-ray on October 2 showed a teeth tumour in the left jaw. The tumour had formed small teeth, containing a few dozen tiny teeth from less than a millimetre to several millimetres in size.

The patient was prescribed surgery to remove the tumour.

During surgery, doctors discovered there were nearly 20 tiny teeth in the tumour with full crowns, pulp and roots.

After two days, the patient's health was stabilised and was discharged from the hospital.

A teeth tumour, also known as complex odontoma, is a rare disease in Việt Nam. The tumour is benign but a cavity can hold from a few tens to several hundred tiny teeth. When the disease occurs, the face is deformed, teeth are messy and pushed because the tumour dominates the position of teeth.

Teeth tumours are difficult to detect because the tumour does not cause pain. Sometimes, the manifestation is only pain due to tooth decay, tooth marrow infection or tooth infection.

Therefore, many doctors treat this issue the wrong way and don't completely remove the tumour, leading to more and more advanced disease and fracture of the jaw and nerve rupture.

The only treatment method is surgery to remove the tumour. If caught early, surgery is simple. — VNS