A dental therapist, Dr Simon Audu, on Wednesday said it was a developmental abnormality for a baby to be born with teeth.

Audu, the Secretary-General, Nigerian Dental Therapists Associations (NDTA), in Abuja said that such births should not be linked to any superstitious or cultural beliefs.

According to him, the development of teeth usually begins at five weeks of prenatal stage of pregnancy, which enables babies to get their first tooth between four months and seven months of age.

The dental therapist, in an interview, explained that on rare occasions some medical conditions and predisposing factors may cause developmental abnormalities leading to babies being born with teeth.

“For such parents, bring the babies to hospital for professional advice, the teeth can either be removed or left to be monitored if no health implication arises,’’ he said.

Audu advised the public to discard superstitious beliefs attached to babies who are born with teeth, saying it could lead to societal stigmatisation as the babies could be labelled as monsters and bearers of misfortunes.

The expert also advised people to visit their dentists regularly, have adequate and balanced nutrition and adhere to oral health hygiene to prevent oral diseases.

“The mouth is the only gateway to the body, bad oral health will affect the general health of the body,’’ Audu said.

NAN