India, Nov. 24 -- When a 26-day-old baby was admitted to the hospital with escalating respiratory diseases, doctors were puzzled. X-rays and echo-chardiograms showed no abnormalities, and it was only four days later that a bronchoscopy finally revealed that the infant had inhaled a hidden tooth.

The 1.95 kg infant then underwent a lifesaving procedure at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Navi Mumbai and was saved from the rare and potentially fatal incident that sometimes affects newborn babies.

"We were stunned to find a natal tooth inside the bronchus," said Dr Shilpa Aroskar, head of paediatrics and neonatology. She explained that some babies are born with natal teeth, and when these teeth are embedded under their gums, they...