Indian Woman With 38 Teeth Sets Guinness World Record

A 26-year-old Indian woman with 38 teeth in her mouth has set a Guinness World Record. Kalpana Balan now holds the record for the highest number of teeth in a female's mouth, surpassing the typical adult count by six.

According to the Guinness World Record, the mother of one has four extra mandibular (lower jaw) teeth and two extra maxillary (upper jaw) teeth. In her teenage years, Kalpana experienced the gradual emergence of her additional teeth, growing one by one. Despite experiencing no pain, she faced challenges with eating as food often became trapped between the extra teeth. When her parents discovered this additional set of teeth, they were surprised and recommended that she undergo extraction.

Kalpana Balan from India has six more teeth than the average human.

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— Guinness World Records (@GWR) November 20, 2023

However, Kalpana's dentist suggested she wait until the teeth grow out more because they could not be easily removed, GWR said in a release. Ms Balan decided to keep the teeth, even after they'd all fully grown out, as she feared going through with the procedure. 

After achieving the feat, Ms Balan said, "I am so happy to get the Guinness World Records title," she said. "It's my lifetime achievement."

Ms Balan may be able to extend her record in the future as she has two unfilled teeth. 

The male record holder for this title is Evano Mellone from Canada, he has a total of 41 teeth. 

"The medical term for the presence of excess teeth is hyperdontia or polydontia. Up to 3.8% of the world's population have one or more supernumerary teeth. Hyperdontia is the result of a malfunction in the tooth formation process, although its exact cause is unknown. It is thought that supernumerary teeth develop from an extra tooth bud arising near a regular tooth bud, or possibly from the splitting of a regular tooth bud," reports GWR.