Towering at 8 feet 4 inches, Sultan Kosen is the world's tallest man, and he's in San Clemente to get a free dental makeover.
The 27-year-old from Turkey has a rare hormonal condition called acromegaly, which causes the pituitary gland to produce too much growth hormone, usually as a result of a noncancerous tumor on the pituitary gland. Doctors at the University of Virginia performed surgery last week to try to prevent future growth spurts. Two previous surgeries didn't help.
Kosen was featured in the TLC documentary "World's Tallest Man: Still Growing." After watching the program, San Clemente dentist Eric Johnson contacted Kosen and offered him a free dental makeover to fill cavities and fix his other teeth.
"They noticed that I don't have the best of teeth. They noticed that, and here I am here in California," said Kosen during a Wednesday news conference in San Clemente. "May God bless the Johnson family for taking care of my teeth."
"He's agile and got into the chair," said Johnson. "That was one of my team's concern. 'How are we going to get him into the chair?' It's him. He was able to fit right into it."
Kosen's translator said that he is quite agile and can "negotiate even into a bathroom of an airplane." She said they fly business class and Kosen can fit comfortably into the chairs that convert into beds.
Following the news conference, Kosen took photos with residents and then went back into the dentist's office for more dental work.
