Baby born with fully developed teeth shocks mother, doctors

A young mother was shocked when her baby was born with two fully developed front teeth. Even the hospital staff couldn't believe what they were seeing and the nurses told her that never in their professional career had they heard of a baby being born with teeth.

Tiktok user Jordan Bloss-Wilson shared the extraordinary experience with her thousands of followers. Jordan, who lives in Kansas City with her partner, shared a video of her cute baby giggling and showing his small teeth. In the description she wrote: "When your baby is born with teeth and all the hospital staff is in disbelief bc they've never seen this before."

The mother of the now eight months old baby gave some details in a comment under the video: "This happens once in every 2000 births."

Not a Tiktok filter

The clip went viral and gathered close to 20 million views. Because some people didn't believe her and claimed she was using a filter, Jordan shared another video in which she checks her baby's teeth and proves to the viewers that they are completely real.

Many commented that they didn't know that this was even possible and that they wouldn't even know how to react if this were to happen to them. One wrote: "Wow, fascinating. I have never heard about a case like this in the past." Another commented: "I expected the teeth to barely be visible as if they just started growing, but they really look like fully grown teeth." The mother responded: "I know right?! They look so big because he was so small. He grew into them in the end."

Some viewers commented on the first video, saying that they did see cases like this in the past, or even that they themselves were born with teeth. "I was born with teeth!!!" one wrote excitedly and another commenter added: "I was born with one tooth and my mother told me all I did all day was cry."

According to the Israeli website "Tinok Israeli" teeth that are visible upon birth are called "natal teeth" and they were first described in 59 BC in the Roman empire. Superstitions and folklore gave rise to beliefs that these children are either lucky - or cursed.

Curse or blessing?

In England, it was believed that babies born with teeth are fated to be famous warriors, while in France and Italy it was believed these children were meant to be conquerors. In China, Poland, India and Africa on the other hand, these children were seen to be monsters bringing bad luck - the way to get rid of the bad spirits was to rip out the teeth.

Even though the phenomenon of natal teeth is common in infants of mammals, it is relatively scarce among humans. The frequency is between about 1 in 800 to 1 in 6000 births. The phenomenon is a bit more frequent among girls and runs in the family in some cases. Most of these teeth belong to the baby's normal deciduous dentition - meaning if they are removed, other teeth will not erupt in their place until the permanent teeth grow in this area, at about the age of six.

The exact cause of the phenomenon is unknown. But there are several hypotheses such as: a superficial placement of the tooth sprout in the bone and gums, infections, fever, malnutrition, hormonal stimuli, activity of bone joint cells near the tooth sprout and various genetic factors. The prevailing theory is that the main reason is the superficial location of the tooth sprout in combination with a genetic influence. In several cases, the phenomenon is seen together with certain syndromes such as cleft palate and lip.