29 September 2023

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Worldwide prevalence of natal and prenatal teeth

Lara Figini

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Tooth eruption is a physiological process that involves the dental element moving away from its initial position towards the oral cavity. The first primary tooth commonly erupts at around 6 months of age, marking an important process in the child's development.

However, alterations in the typical chronology of tooth eruption can occur and this process can begin even in the first days of life or even before birth.

Teeth present at birth are called natal teeth, while those that erupt within the first 30 days of life are called neonatal teeth.

Materials and methods

In a systematic review published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, the authors determined the worldwide prevalence of natal and neonatal teeth by searching six electronic databases and gray literature through February 23, 2023.

Observational studies reporting the prevalence of natal or neonatal dental disease were identified. Studies that considered natal teeth and neonatal teeth with identical terms or did not report prevalence were excluded from the review.

The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute method for studies reporting prevalence data. The worldwide prevalence of natal and neonatal teeth was estimated via proportional meta-analysis using a beta-binomial model.

Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using subgroup analysis and meta-regression.

Results

None of the 23 included studies met all points of the methodological quality checklist.

The worldwide prevalence of natal teeth was found to be 34.55 (95% CI, 20.12 to 59.26) per 10,000, and the prevalence of neonatal teeth was 4.52 (95% CI, 2.0 to 59 to 17.91) per 10,000.

The continent subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of natal teeth ranged from 11.26 (95% CI, 7.58 to 16.61) per 10,000 in Asia up to 75.32 (95% CI, 7.58 to 16.61) per 10,000 in Asia up to 75.32 (95% CI, 51.11 to 99.86) per 10,000 in North America, and the prevalence of neonatal teeth ranged from 3.52 (95% CI, 1.73 to 7.06) per 10,000 in Europe to 6.01 ( 95% CI, 2.25 to 16.60) per 10,000 in South America.

Meta-regression found no statistically significant association between prevalence rates and year of publication or sample size.

Conclusions

From the data of this review, which must be confirmed in other similar studies and reviews, it can be concluded that the prevalence of natal and prenatal teeth is very low and varies from continent to continent. The worldwide prevalence of natal and neonatal teeth is 34.55 per 10,000 and 4.52 per 10,000, respectively.