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Prevalence of natal/neonatal teeth in cleft lip and palate infants
1Department of Dentistry for Children, Hospital for Research and Rehabilitation of Cleft Lip and Palate, University of São Paulo, Bauru-SP, Brazil.
Insights
Natal/neonatal teeth occur more frequently in infants with cleft lip and palate. This anomaly appears more often in bilateral cleft cases and presents unique characteristics compared to non-cleft infants.
Area of Science:
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Craniofacial Anomalies
Background:
- Natal/neonatal teeth are teeth present at birth or emerging shortly after.
- A high frequency of natal/neonatal teeth was observed in routine clinical practice.
- Cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients may present unique dental anomalies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of natal/neonatal teeth in infants with complete unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate.
- To compare the prevalence in cleft versus non-cleft populations.
- To describe the characteristics of natal/neonatal teeth in CLP patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study design.
- Analysis of 692 patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.
- Analysis of 327 patients with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate.
- Inclusion criteria: age < 3 months, no prior surgery.
Main Results:
- Prevalence of natal/neonatal teeth was 2.02% in unilateral CLP and 10.6% in bilateral CLP.
- Prevalence was significantly higher in both CLP groups compared to non-cleft groups.
- Observed distinct characteristics of natal/neonatal teeth in CLP patients compared to literature for non-cleft patients.
Conclusions:
- Natal/neonatal teeth are more prevalent in infants with cleft lip and palate.
- Bilateral cleft lip and palate shows a higher prevalence of natal/neonatal teeth.
- The unique presentation of these teeth in CLP patients highlights a specific characteristic of this population.
Abstract:
In the daily routine of the Hospital for Research and Rehabilitation of Cleft Lip and Palate, a high frequency of natal/neonatal teeth was observed. Therefore, this retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence of this anomaly in 692 patients with complete unilateral and 327 bilateral cleft lip and palate, who were less than 3 months old, without prior surgery, and registered at the Hospital from 1989 to 1994. A higher prevalence of such teeth was found in the complete bilateral cleft group (10.6%), than in the complete unilateral cleft group (2.02%). Both, however, were higher than that reported for noncleft groups. There were also different characteristics in the appearance of these teeth in cleft patients from those previously related in the literature for normal patients. The conclusion was that these differences constitute another particularity of the cleft lip and palate patient.