Residual neonatal tooth in a pre-term infant: A case report and brief review

Abstract

Sometimes aberrations may occur in the biological chronology, resulting in the presence of dentition at time of birth or soon after birth. Massler & Savara introduced a new nomenclature, where the teeth present at birth or soon after the birth were classified as natal or neonatal teeth respectively. The incidence of natal/neonatal teeth rangesfrom 1:2000 to 1;3500 live births, and the possibility of natal or neonatal teeth in preterm infants is extremely rare with only few case reports mentioned in literature. Most of the natal teeth are prematurely erupted primary teeth and should be maintained cautiously unless they are interfering with nursing or causing ulceration of the tongue. Frequently such cases do not encounter residual tooth formation subsequent to the extraction of natal and neonatal teeth but still there is an involvement of 9.1% of the risk and therefore the parents should be informed about the possibility and the need for regular follow up. Keywords: Natal tooth, Neonatal tooth, Preterm infant, Low-Birth Weight, Residual tooth.