Brazil: 10-year-old girl has 15 maggots removed from swollen gums [Warning graphic footage]

Look away if you are easily squeamish, but this shocking footage shows maggots being removed from a girl's mouth in Brazil after she complained of having gum ache.

Adriana Cardoso, 35, thought her 10-year-old daughter, Ana, was joking when she said she felt something wriggling around in her mouth.

But when she noticed her daughter becoming increasingly in pain despite brushing her teeth numerous times and was not able to see anything herself, she took her to the dentist for help.

As soon as she arrived the dentist diagnosed her with a rare form of oral myiasis – a fly lava infection – and removed 15 maggots from her mouth.

"I couldn't believe it when they said she had a disease and then started pulling the maggots out," said Cardoso.

"I thought I was going to be sick."

The gruesome video shows the calm youngster as the dentist carefully removed the maggots one by one using tweezers.

A spokesman for the dental surgery said: "There were 15 maggots in her mouth so we videoed the removal for our records as it is a rare occurrence.

"We also wanted to show the girl's family what had happened and warn others."

Fly larvae either feeds on a living or dead tissue, liquid body substance or ingested food.