It's not uncommon to have a few surprises when a baby first enters the world. After all, the ultrasound will only tell you so much. Usually, it's something like a full head of hair, an unexpected birthmark, or maybe even the baby's gender if you decided not to find out first. But according to one mom on TikTok, her baby stunned everyone in the delivery room for a very different reason after he was born with several visible bottom teeth.
The story was recently shared by Jordan Bloss-Wilson of Kansas City, Missouri
In a video from December 28, the TikToker's son is seen shortly after returning home from the hospital. The wriggly newborn looks adorable and sleepy-eyed, as he slowly opens his mouth to produce a long, exaggerated yawn.
And that's when it suddenly becomes clear that the little guy has two fully formed chompers on the bottom row of his mouth.
Needless to say, the discovery took everyone by surprise
Not just the baby's parents, but also the hospital staff who apparently have never seen such a thing before.
In fact, Bloss-Wilson wrote in her TikTok video that both the doctors and nurses were in "disbelief" over the whole thing.
@jordanbloss_ Two truths and a lie game will have nothing on this kid. This happens 1 out of every 2,000 births. #natalteethbaby #babytok #popular #fyp #familytok #birthstory #hospitaltiktoks ♬ Popular – From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003 – Kristin Chenoweth
"Two truths and a lie game will have nothing on this kid," the mom later quipped.
They're known as "natal teeth" — and yes, they're for real
They're also incredible rare, occurring in roughly 1 out of every 2,000–3,000 live births.
According to the Mt. Sinai Hospital Network, natal teeth are teeth that are already present at birth, as opposed to neonatal teeth, which come in during the first 30 days or so after birth.
Just like Bloss-Wilson's son, most babies with natal teeth develop them on the lower gum, but unlike typical "baby teeth," which grow in later, they don't have strong roots and are only attached to the gum by soft tissue.
As a result, they're often wobbly and prone to falling out.
The presence of natal teeth doesn't mean that something's "wrong"
In fact, most of the time, they're not caused by any particular medical condition, and are nothing to worry about.
That said, MtSinai.org reports that natal teeth can sometimes be associated with several noteworthy conditions, such as Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, Hallermann-Streiff syndrome, cleft palate, Pierre-Robin syndrome, and Soto syndrome.
There are, unfortunately, some downsides to these newborn chompers.
For one thing, they can become super painful for breastfeeding moms, who may find their newborn unintentionally biting down in the middle of nursing.
And because these teeth aren't very well anchored, there is often a fear that they will suddenly fall out, causing the baby to choke. Because of this, many natal teeth are removed in the hospital, shortly after birth.
In the comments, some people couldn't believe what they were seeing
"It’s a filter," one person insisted. "This ain’t real!"
"I’d 100% be scared of my own baby," said another.
"I was expecting them to be barely visible, like just broke through the gum … not damn near adult teeth," someone else wrote.
Bloss-Wilson actually replied to that comment, agreeing that she too couldn't believe how huge they looked at first.
"I know right! They looked so big bc he was so little!" the mom shared. Luckily, though, "he grew into them eventually."
And as for the whole biting-while-breastfeeding thing, she confirmed in a later comment that her son does bite "sometimes," which naturally isn't too fun. But other than that, the teeth haven't seemed to cause any problems, and have actually tightened up over time.
Plenty of other TikTokers soon chimed in with similar stories
"I was born with some teeth," one person shared. "Everyone called me a little gremlin baby!"
"Both of my babies were born with teeth," another person wrote. "My daughter is 22 months and my son 10 months, and they still have them."
"My daughter was born with her two bottom teeth as well," someone else chimed in. "I was quite confused when she came out, but they stayed until they fell out on their own."
These stories seem to have made the naysayers pipe down — but so has a follow-up video from Bloss-Wilson, which shows a close-up view of her son's newborn dental examination.
@jordanbloss_ Replying to @brittanythebossbabe Don’t believe me? Just watch. #babywithteeth #babytok #familytok #babiesoftiktok #dentist #viral #fypシ #babyshark ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
"Yep, I’m a dental hygienist and learned this in hygiene school," one user confirmed. "I think it’s cool."
A similar story made the rounds a few years back
Back in 2015, a baby born in Branson, Missouri, also stunned hospital staff when she entered the world with two bottom teeth.
Her name was Alyssa Bailey, and her story quickly attracted local news outlets.
"Right when she first arrived, everyone was shocked," Alyssa's mom, Jaklina Bailey, told KOLR-TV at the time. "They said, 'She has two front teeth?' It was just the big talk in the delivery room."
Just like Bloss-Wilson, Bailey was told not to worry, and that aside from watching the teeth to make sure they didn't come loose, things would normalize once Alyssa's other baby teeth came in.
"Everything about her is healthy, she's a healthy, beautiful little girl," the mom assured. "She just has two front teeth."
