High maternal stress in late pregnancy may influence when a baby’s first teeth erupt.
Recent findings suggest that elevated cortisol levels in expectant mothers are associated with earlier eruption of primary teeth. Infants born to mothers with the highest reported stress levels were found to have a greater number of erupted teeth by six months of age compared to those exposed to lower stress levels.
The researchers propose that prenatal stress may alter fetal developmental timing, potentially accelerating biological processes such as bone growth and tooth formation.
Importantly, earlier tooth eruption could represent a measurable biological marker of in-utero stress exposure and may help identify children who could be at increased risk for stress-related health outcomes later in life.
These observations were reported by investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in collaboration with dental researchers affiliated with the American Dental Association.
