The eruption of teeth is an important milestone in child’s development especially during the first year of life. Usually, the first primary tooth to erupt in the mouth is the mandibular central incisor around six months of age. However, sometimes this biological chronology gets disturbed when primary teeth appear in the mouth at birth. Teeth present in the mouth at the time of birth are called ‘natal teeth’, and those erupting during the first month of life are termed as ‘neonatal teeth’.[1] The natal (1:1000) and neonatal (1:30,000) teeth are the uncommon developmental anomaly. These prematurely erupted teeth may be diagnosed as part of primary dentition, often appears in pairs and are more common in females. Supernumerary natal teeth occur …show more content…
Superficial position of tooth germs, hormonal disturbances, febrile illness, genetic factors, hypovitaminosis, and osteoblastic activity inside the tooth germ related to remodeling of alveolar bone has been suggested as etiologic factors. Natal and neonatal teeth may be associated with some syndromes like Ellis van creveld syndrome, cleft lip and palate, Hallermann- Streiff syndrome, Sotos syndrome, and congenital pachyonychia. Our patient did not have any syndrome.
Clinically these teeth may be small conical or of normal size and shape with opaque yellow-brownish in color. They are often mobile due to their incomplete root formation. If natal teeth are of diagnosed as part of normal dentition, they should be retained in the mouth. However, extraction is indicated when complications arise. Complications associated with these prematurely erupted teeth are interference with breast milk sucking, ulceration on the ventral surface of the tongue caused by the sharp edges of the tooth, aspiration of dislodged teeth, and traumatic injury to the mother’s breast. These situations would indicate removal of natal teeth. If extraction is indicated, it is usually done when the infant is ten days of age or more so that the infant has adequate blood levels of vitamin k. If the early removal of the natal teeth is indicated, intramuscular dose of 0.5 to 1 mg vitamin k should be administered. In the present case, the patient did not demonstrate any complication except for slight mobility of the maxillary natal