Prematurely erupted deciduous teeth in a Nigerian baby--a case report.

This paper reports the case of a thirteen-day-old male child who was brought to the clinic with lower central incisors which had been erupted into the oral cavity from birth. The teeth, which resembled the normal deciduous series, were mobile. A striking observation was the anxious behaviour of the mother which prompted further probing. History taking revealed that the mother's anxiety was caused by societal unpleasant reaction to her baby's prematurely erupted teeth. The pressure was so intense that she had to seek medical help. At this tender age of the baby, it is advisable to preserve prematurely erupted teeth in order to prevent malocclusion resulting from premature loss of the deciduous teeth. Therefore, it is highly essential that people in this society be enlightened about such cases in order to reduce the psychological stress on parents of children with a similar condition.