Natal tooth is the term for a tooth that is already visible the day a baby is born.

In kid words

"You surprised everyone and already had a tooth the day you were born!" That's a fun line to save for later, once your child is old enough to enjoy hearing their own baby story. Right now, a natal tooth is really a word for the grown-ups, the kind your pediatrician and your pediatric dentist talk through together.

The parent version

Natal tooth is the mainstream dental term for a tooth that is already present and visible in a newborn's mouth at birth, instead of arriving months later the way most first teeth do. It is uncommon enough to catch most families off guard, partly because it shows up before any of the usual teething cues parents are told to watch for.

A natal tooth is typically an early arrival of one of the regular first teeth, most often a lower front tooth, rather than an extra tooth crowding in beside the usual set. Mainstream sources describe it as generally manageable rather than alarming. How firmly it is attached is different from baby to baby, which is part of why it gets an early look rather than a wait and see approach. For anything specific to your baby, ask your pediatric dentist.

Where you might hear it at our office

A natal tooth is the kind of surprise worth an early conversation, and plenty of families end up having it with both their pediatrician and their pediatric dentist in the same short stretch of time, comparing notes instead of guessing alone. Infant dental care exists for exactly this kind of early question, long before a first birthday visit would otherwise be on the calendar.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a first visit by the first birthday or within six months of the first tooth, and a baby born with a tooth already showing is simply an early version of that same guidance. If another word from a visit needs translating, more of them are waiting in the Kids' Dental Dictionary.

Related words

Words that often come up alongside natal tooth: eruption, teething, deciduous teeth.