Prematurely Erupted Tooth in Preterm Infant

Abstract

Introduction: Preterm birth and low birthweight are mostly connected with delay of development and eruption of primary and permanent teeth. The presence of natal and neonatal teeth or premature eruption of deciduous teeth (dentitio praecox) is extremely rare situation in prematurely delivered infants and aetiology of this disturbance is still not clearly established. Aim: The aim of the case report is to present history, clinical symptoms, complications and management of preterm extremely low birthweight infant with prematurely erupted tooth and to add review of the relevant literature. Case report: A caucasian five weeks old extremely preterm delivered boy (gestational age 24 weeks and six days) with extremely low birthweight (620 g) and polymorbidity was examined due to presence of eruption cyst in frontal region of mandible and one week later due to partial eruption of tooth in the same localization. The crown size and form resembled to primary lower central incisor. The partially erupted tooth was characterized by developmental defects of enamel, inflammation of surrounding gingival tissue and hypermobility. The erupted tooth was extracted due to its serious mobility with sterile forceps and hemorrhage was stopped with digital compression with the help of sterile gauze. The healing after extraction was without complications. Conclusion: The premature eruption of teeth in preterm infant is a very rare situation. Only ten case reports and two retrospective studies focusing on the presence of natal or neonatal teeth in preterm infants were published. The management of preterm infants with prematurely erupted teeth requires the cooperation of dentist with neonatologists. The knowledge of this problem is important for diagnosis, management, parental counseling and elimination of the possible association with various ecto-mezenchymal syndromes.

Keywords

• preterm birth
• extremely low birthweight
• natal tooth
• dentitio praecox