A person's nose breathing difficulties for many years turned out to have an explanation stranger than anyone thought. His doctor described in a paper published this week that he found a tooth poked into his nasal cavity. Fortunately, there were no complications with the wayward chew, and the man’s sultry symptoms disappeared.
Research on the nose and teeth was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. According to reports, a 38-year-old man went to the ear, nose and throat clinic in Mount Sinai, New York, and complained of difficulty breathing in his right nostril-a problem that had been going on for several years at that time.
Physical examination revealed a deviation of the nasal septum (the cartilage in the middle separates one nostril from the other, which may be displaced for various reasons), as well as some kind of bone obstruction and a two-centimeter tear at the back of the septum. When they use a rhinoscope (Basically it is a camera attached to the tube) Upon closer inspection, they found a "hard, non-soft, white lump" at the bottom of the nostril. When they performed a CT scan, they clearly determined what the lump was: a tooth was growing where it shouldn't be. You can click here to view medical images of moderately disturbing teeth.
From an anatomical point of view, the man has an ectopic tooth, which is a general term for abnormal placement of body parts. There are many reasons for the occurrence of ectopic teeth. Sometimes our adult permanent teeth will grow or erupt in unusual ways. Other times, the process of replacing deciduous teeth is not completely correct. The deciduous teeth will eventually be pushed out by the adult teeth, but they do not fall off as expected, and they just stay in our mouths, albeit in an awkward position. Or, even in adulthood, extra teeth may appear spontaneously. The doctor did not explain how the man’s stray teeth were formed, but whatever the cause, genetics are considered a risk factor for the disease.
Ectopic teeth are considered rare, occurring in 0.1% to 1% of the population. But in most cases, these unusual teeth are not too far away from their usual homes, and it is not difficult to miss them. Even more rare are the inverted teeth that end up hidden in the nasal cavity, as shown in this example. Having said that, the doctor also reported some other cases of nose and teeth before.
Ectopic teeth do not always require treatment, because some ectopic teeth may develop normally after the initial irregular eruption. According to their position, they can also be adjusted to a suitable position through braces or other dental procedures. But in this case, the doctor chose to simply remove it through surgery. After removing it, they confirmed its size, which was 14 mm long, or about half an inch. The bizarre story of this man is mature and can be shared at his next holiday party because it has a happy ending.
"In a follow-up 3 months after the operation, the patient's nasal congestion symptoms have resolved," the author wrote.
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