Uh, yikes.
Mount Sinai surgeons discovered a tooth growing inside an unnamed 38-year-old New York resident’s nose. The man visited a doctor after having trouble breathing for several years. Initial examinations revealed that the patient’s septum (the partition between the nasal passages) was pushed to the side. In order to actually find the cause of this issue, a rhinoscopy was done.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons Sagar Khanna and Michael Turner then discovered a shocking anomaly inside the man’s nose– a tooth was growing inside! The patient had a 15-millimeter ectopic tooth, an exceedingly rare condition. This involves the teeth sprouting up in the jawbone under the gum rather than in the mouth. The doctors were able to remove the lost tooth and three months later, the man’s breathing problems were resolved.
Image credit: Jam Press via The New York Press