The Frequency of Natal and Neonatal Teeth in a Tertiary-care Hospital, Southern Punjab

Abstract

Objective: To find out the frequency of natal and neonatal teeth in local population of Southern Punjab. Material and methods: This was an observational prospective study conducted in dental outdoor department of Ibn-e-Sina Hospital, Multan from July 2019 to July 2021 after taking approval of the ethical committee. A total of 3800 patients were included. An informed consent was taken and neonates upto the age of six years were included in the study and data was collected about age, sex, religion, mother condition before and after delivery, family history and infection during pregnancy. Results: A total of 3800 children were examined during the study period and out of which 7 children have natal and neonatal teeth and natal teeth are more common than prenatal teeth (5:2) with a ratio of 2.5:1. The prevalence of natal and neonatal teeth during this period was 1:543. Data showed a female predominance with male to female ratio of 1:2.5 and 100% were mandibular incisors. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the study that natal and neonatal teeth are benign condition of oral cavity with frequency of 0.18%. These have female predilection and mandibular incisors are the most frequent type. Ventral tongue trauma is frequent problem faced by baby and these have no relation to the mode of delivery. Keywords: Natal, neonatal, mandibular incisors, teeth