Advertisement |
"My orthodontist said it needed to be removed so that the molar could drop properly," Scarpelli told Guinness World Records.
Scarpelli's tooth was removed when he was 9 years and 327 days old, making him the youngest person to have a wisdom tooth extracted. The previous record holder, Matthew Adams, was only a few days older when his tooth was taken out at 9 years and 339 days in 2002.
Wisdom teeth, the last permanent teeth to come in, typically show up -- and are often removed -- in a person's late teens or early 20s.
"It was scary, but it really wasn't that bad. And before I knew it, my mouth was back to normal," Scarpelli said.
His mother, Shelly Scarpelli, said she did some research after the operation and confirmed her suspicion that her son was a new world record holder.
"I knew that 9 years old was very young for a wisdom tooth to be removed so I did some research and learned that the youngest person on record was 9 years and 339 days," she said.