Dispelling the Baby Upper Teeth First Myth – Eleyin Oke
TEETHING MYTHS AND FACTS
Babies who erupt the upper central teeth first are weird or demonic.
The Yoruba called them “Eleyin Oke” and there is a widespread belief that such babies have strange powers that make anything they say especially curses come to pass 😂
FACT: Such babies are not witches,wizards and have no extraordinary powers. They are normal.
Please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE TEETH BY FORCE!!!
The children are completely normal.
Dr Gbemisola Boyede
Somebody sent this via mail asking about a baby born with 2 upper teeth 👇
“Thank you doctor for your wonderful works as related to keeping us healthy… I heard of a woman whose baby was born with 2 upper teeth. She removed them herself. Dr is it also normal?”
Answer 👇
Yes it is true that some babies are born with teeth and some even grow teeth within a few days after birth. Such teeth are called #natal and #neonatal teeth respectively.
Many cultures have attributed different meanings to this condition while some think it’s a bad omen some others belief that such children will bring them good fortune😀 all these are only myths. It is an abnormality in teeth development and the exact cause is not known, sometimes it may be a pointer to other underlying medical conditions and so such children may need thorough medical examination. What is important is how to manage the condition.
Usually we advise that the teeth should be left in place because they may be part of the normal milk teeth that the child will have in future.
The teeth may be removed when they are very mobile (shaky) and pose a threat to the child swallowing or aspirating it or if it is causing injury to the mother’s nipple and the child is not able to breastfeed properly. If any mother observes this condition in their child please visit the dentist for more information.
This answer was provided by Pediatricians Give Answers
