Gardner's syndrome presenting with dental complaints

Dental professionals play an important role in discovering the early signs of many illnesses. Gardner's syndrome, which affects one in 7500 births in the United States, is an inherited autosomal dominant disorder. There are three distinctive features associated with this syndrome: familial intestinal polyposis or adenomatosis, surface tumors of hard tissues particularly osteoma in the skull, maxillae, and mandible, and finally surface tumors of the soft tissue. The intestinal polyps have a 100% risk of undergoing malignant transformation if not treated. Consequently, early identification of the disease is critical. In this article an 18-year-old male patient with previously undiagnosed Gardner's syndrome who presented for removal of multiple impacted and unerupted teeth is reported to illustrate the importance of early detection and proper referral. This report describes an unusual presentation of a patient seeking extraction of teeth only, while he was totally unaware of potentially deadly situation.