Even though they do not have any teeth yet, prematurely born babies can expect to have dental complications as they grow older, reports the Academy of General Dentistry, an organization of general dentists dedicated to continuing dental education.
About six percent of babies are born before their due date and below 7.2 pounds, and of these, up to 70 percent will have enamel hypoplasia when their teeth erupt, according to a recent dental study. Enamel hypoplasia will cause teeth to look brownish, be softer, less smooth, or more prone to decay or chipping.
"You won't discover this until your child is about six months old because that's about the time when the baby's first tooth would erupt," says Henry Finger, DDS, FAGD, past president and spokesperson of the Academy of General Dentistry. "Prematurely born children should definitely see a dentist when their first tooth erupts to avoid any dental complications."
Children with the lowest birthweight and shortest gestational ages have the lowest rates of dental development, particularly before six years of age, according to the study. Children who were born prematurely can have delays in the eruption of their baby teeth and even their permanent teeth. When the teeth do erupt, they can look stained and brownish.
The front teeth are the first to erupt at six to eight months, and the back teeth erupt between 18 and 24 months. Prematurely born children should be brought to the dentist regularly, even at this early stage, because they are more likely to be candidates for cavities than children born at term.
