Witch Tooth In Babies: Keep Or Let Go?
About one in 2,000 babies is born with a tiny tooth in their mouth called a witch tooth. While babies usually don’t start teething until around the sixth month, these early starters are born with witch teeth. You can find out what this is all about and whether you should have the tooth removed in the article.
Witch tooth in the baby
A congenital tooth is called a witch tooth or witch tooth in an infant. This is usually just a premature baby tooth that is already fully or partially showing. However, there are also cases in which a witch tooth is part of a malformed tooth development.
Draw witch tooth or keep it?
Whether or not a witch’s tooth should be extracted depends on its stability. If the tooth is firmly in the jaw, there is nothing to prevent the child from keeping their special first tooth. However, if the tooth is mobile and is quite loose, it is advisable to have it removed to prevent it from being swallowed. Sometimes a witch tooth also loosens when the baby is latched onto the breast and begins to suckle.
If the tooth is also very sharp and there is a risk that the baby will injure its tongue and mouth, you should also think about removing it. When removing the tooth, however, it should be borne in mind that – if the witch’s tooth is a milk tooth – there will be a gap in the child’s rows of teeth, which will only close when the permanent teeth follow.
If you decide to keep the witch tooth, you can use protective flaps during breastfeeding to protect your nipples from accidental biting.
What is the meaning of a witch tooth?
Usually, a witch tooth is just a freak of nature and nothing to worry about. While there are a handful of diseases that a congenital tooth can be a symptom of, these really are extremely rare.
These diseases include, for example, the so-called Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, of which only 150 cases are known worldwide. Ellis-van-Creveld syndrome is an incurable hereditary disease that can cause growth disorders and heart defects, among other things. Hallermann-Streiff syndrome, Pierre-Robin syndrome or Sotos syndrome, which can result in various malformations, are just as rare. Only 100 to 200 cases of these diseases have been documented worldwide.
In order to dispel all doubts, however, these diseases can be ruled out very quickly by a medical examination.