A comprehensive survey of natal and neonatal teeth in newborns

Objective: To evaluate clinical and histological characteristics and determine the incidence of natal/neonatal teeth in a large Turkish population. Subjects and Methods: Among 17,829 newborns, who were hospitalized at the Neonatal Clinic of a governmental Children's Hospital between 2005 and 2011, 27 neonates were diagnosed with erupted teeth, which were examined in terms of location, clinical appearance and mobility. Besides histological evaluation, a positive family history was also recorded. The variables were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: Thirty-two natal/neonatal teeth were observed in 27 infants. The incidence of both natal and neonatal teeth was found to be 1:660, while the incidences were separately recorded as 1:1,048 and 1:1,782, respectively. The histological examination revealed a thin hypoplastic enamel layer and a normal dentin layer. There was no difference between the two genders in terms of natal/neonatal tooth type, positive family history and tooth morphology (p > 0.05); or between normal and conical shapes with regard to natal/neonatal tooth type, positive family history and tooth color (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study exhibited a higher incidence in natal teeth than neonatal teeth. Macroscopic features were not found to be positively related to gender and tooth type.