26-year-old Indian woman, Kalpana Balan, has recently set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of teeth in a female’s mouth. With a total of 38 teeth, including four extra mandibular (lower jaw) and two extra maxillary (upper jaw) teeth, she surpassed the typical adult count by six. Her parents were initially surprised by the discovery of the extra teeth and recommended extraction, but her dentist advised waiting until they grew out more before removing them.

Despite some challenges with eating due to food getting trapped between the additional teeth, Kalpana ultimately decided to keep them and is now proud of her achievement as a lifetime accomplishment. She still has two unfilled teeth, which means she may have the potential to extend her record in the future. The medical term for having extra teeth is hyperdontia or polydontia, and it is reported that up to 3.8% of the world’s population have one or more supernumerary teeth. The exact cause of hyperdontia is not known, but it is thought to result from a malfunction in the tooth formation process.

The male record holder for this title is Evano Mellone from Canada, who holds 41 teeth. This achievement is just one example of many interesting news stories that have been making headlines lately.