A 27-year-old female gave birth to a baby boy via spontaneous vaginal delivery at term. The mother had an uneventful prenatal course. The APGAR scores were 9 at 1 minute, 9 at 5 minutes, and 10 at 10 minutes. The baby weighed 2.9 kgs, had no signs of distress, and had a normal head-to-toe examination. During examination of the oral cavity, crowns of two teeth were observed in the anterior mandible, i.e., in the lower jaw. The teeth exhibited grade II mobility. The gingivae, tongue, and buccal mucosa were clinically normal. A diagnosis of natal teeth was made. Later, the mother also complained of discomfort during breastfeeding. After administering vitamin K 1 mg intramuscularly, the teeth were extracted, and gentle curettage was performed under local anesthesia. The extracted teeth had crowns but no roots. The baby well tolerated the procedure, and the recovery was uneventful. The baby was re-evaluated after 3 days of the procedure and was doing well.
The presence of teeth at birth, natal teeth, is a rare finding seen in 1:6000 to 1:800 births. Natal teeth are more commonly seen in females and most commonly localised in the mandibular region of central incisors [1]. Extraction of natal teeth is preferred to prevent discomfort or soreness of mother's breasts during breastfeeding, mucosal or tongue ulceration, and aspiration, especially if the teeth are mobile (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Showing two natal teeth in the anterior mandibular region.