What are natal and neonatal teeth?
Very rarely we come across babies who are born with one or more teeth. Teeth that are seen at birth are called natal teeth while teeth that appear within a month of birth are called neonatal teeth. These teeth are retained unless they are very mobile or pose major problems in nursing. At what age do the milk teeth fall off? All the milk teeth erupt by 3 years of age. The milk teeth are shed from 6 years onwards till about 10 years of age. The permanent teeth appear by 6 years of age. Between the ages of 6 – 9 years the child has some milk teeth as well as some permanent teeth This period is called the mixed dentition period. By about 12 years all the milk teeth should be shed off and replaced by the permanent teeth. Why do milk teeth become mobile? As the permanent teeth start emerging they wear off the roots of the milk teeth. Thus the milk teeth loose their support in the bone and become mobile. The milk teeth are ultimately shed off and are replaced by the permanent teeth. At what a
