Three days after Christmas, Alyssa Bailey was born with two perfectly formed bottom teeth. This is incredibly rare; in fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, one in every 2,000 to 3,000 infants are born with teeth. Alyssa’s mother, Jaklina Bailey, said that her daughter’s teeth stunned everyone at the hospital.
She said, “Right when she first arrived, everybody was just shocked. She has two front teeth? No kidding? Really? It was just a big talk about it in the delivery room.” She added, “Word of the rare sight spread down the hallways and soon other doctors and nurses were popping by her room to see the baby’s pearly whites.”
The Daily Mail shares more about natal teeth
They usually develop in the lower gums and have little root structure meaning they are often wobbly.
They are not usually well formed but can injure the baby’s tongue when it is breastfeeding and can cause a breastfeeding mother pain.
Natal teeth are often removed shortly after a baby is born because if they are loose there is a danger of the child choking on them.
There is no known explanation for them other than that a child is more dentally developed. Very rarely they are related to other medical issues, such as Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, a condition that affects bone growth and can lead to breathing difficulties and heart failure.
After the natal teeth are removed or fall out, the baby will grow teeth as normal.
Most children have a full set of 20 milk teeth by the time they’re three years old. These teeth will start to fall out around the five-year mark, making way for larger adult teeth.
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A clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, Dr. Laura Corio, told ABC News that the teeth will often be on the bottom but occasionally a baby is born with more than just two. She said, “Teeth can be present in oral cavities at birth and may be related to certain other health problems but not always. Doctors often file down the teeth so the baby avoids injuring themselves or their mother as they learn to breastfeed.”
Alyssa was born perfectly healthy and doctors say there’s no problem with her teeth, but her parents should keep their eye on them in case they become loose.
Watch the news video below about Alyssa’s new pair of pearly whites.
