Natal teeth?

[Ewood1985]

Two weeks ago I had a lovely baby boy! As they were cleaning him up I heard the nurse exclaim he has TEETH! Yep my baby boy was born with natal teeth. It's his two front lower teeth, at birth they were not fully emerged from the gum. They were loose under his gums and I was informed they may need to be pulled as they can be a choking hazard. They had not erupted when we left the hospital nor at his check up, so the pedi decided we did not need a referral to a pediatric dentist. They have since erupted and are still semi loose but not so loose that I worry about them coming out just yet.

I have found very little info on natal teeth and my pedi doesn't have a whole lot to say about it. I want to avoid having them pulled if we can, and so far they don't seem to hinder his ability to nurse ( not entirely pleasant for me though).

I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and try and find a dentist who will see him. I just want some info I turned to dr google (not a fan of using google in place of real medical/dental advice) and cannot find anything useful. Would x rays show how well the root is developed and give an idea if they need to come out? Also can they become more sturdy in the mouth as he gets older? He doesn't seem in any pain and eats very well.

I had no dental care as a child and now suffer because of it I don't want my children to have my oral problems I'm just not sure what to do not do I want to subject my 2 week old to having teeth extracted if its not truly needed.

 

[MartyD]

You should take him to see a Pediatric Dentist. They are well trained to deal with natal teeth and by starting the baby in his new dental home you can avoid all the problems you had as a child. The pediatric dentist will take an occlusal to determine the root length.The Xray and the mobility will determine if the tooth needs to be extracted. It is possible that the there is enough root development to allow the teeth to become more anchored. No extraction should be performed on a child less than 10 days due to Vit K issues but since your child is older you should be safe. Also there is a risk of residual tooth formation and a need for a second procedure. At any rate, I would not avoid going to the dentist. At this stage the baby has no memory and the procedure will be more difficult for you than for him!

 

[marrkarnell]

The pediatric dentist might do some xray before he performs such extractions. It's quite a hard job, i guess, because the gums of your baby is still soft that the dentist might be careful in performing.