Introduction
One of the main objectives of the pediatric dentistry specialty is to
provide oral and dental care to patient from infancy to adolescence.
Occasionally, infants are born with an early eruption of teeth in their
oral cavities. When present at birth (i.e. erupted in utero), such teeth
are termed natal teeth. When the eruption occurs during the first month
of life, teeth are term neonatal teeth.
Both natal and neonatal teeth are anomalies with unknown etiology,
Their incidence is 1:700 to 1:3500, respectively. Natal teeth are more
frequent than neonatal teeth with a ratio of approximately 3:1. Natal
teeth usually occur in pairs most commonly located in the lower anterior
mandible; however, the presence of supernumerary natal teeth is
considered a rare condition occurring at rate of less than 10% of all
reported cases (2). The majority of natal and neonatal teeth represent
the early eruption of normal primary dentition.
Occasionally, natal teeth are associated with complications for both the
neonate and the mother. Firstly, they may be a cause for interruptions
in breast-feeding as they cause discomfort for the mother by irritating
the breast. They may also cause irritation to the neonatal tongue and
ulcerations of its ventral surface (known as Riga- Fédé disease) (3, 6).