A paediatric dentist at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Osarugue Ota, says babies born with teeth or who grow teeth within 30 days of birth are normal and not related to witchcraft.
She said that such occurrences are entirely normal and have no connections to witchcraft in an online training session for journalists on Tuesday.
According to Ota, there are two categories: natal teeth, which are present when a baby is born, and neonatal teeth, which emerge within the first 30 days after birth. These teeth usually appear around the age of six months but may emerge earlier for various reasons.
She said, “This situation is not common; that is why it could be scary for most parents.
“The society also frowns upon it, and some say the parents brought the child from the witchcraft kingdom.
“Our role as paediatric dentists will be to counsel the mother and even the entire family of such a baby about these kinds of teeth and the treatment options, and to tell them that the situations have nothing to do with witchcraft.
“We will check if the teeth are shaky; this means they are not well-formed and could actually be a risk to the child as they could cause injury to the infant’s tongue when nursing.”
Ota clarified that if the natal teeth are solid and well-formed, the child is considered normal. However, if parents still wish to remove them due to cultural beliefs, they must provide consent for an expert to perform the procedure.
