natal and neonatal teeth
Last reviewed 01/2018
In some children teeth are present at birth (natal teeth) or develop during the first month of life (neonatal teeth).Natal teeth occur between 1 in 2000 live births and 1 in 6000 live births (1).
The aetiology is unknown but a positive family history has been recorded (2).
In some children it may be associated with cleft lip and palate cases, Pierre-Robin syndrome and other syndromes which involve head and neck (1).
It is usually a benign condition.
Most natal and neonatal teeth are part of primary deciduous teeth and less than 10% are supernumery (2).
They are most commonly seen as mandibular incisors (1).
Natal and neonatal teeth should only be removed if they interfere with brestfeeding, if they cause trauma to the to the infant or mothers nipple or if there is a risk of them being swallowed or aspirated by the infant (1).
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