The research, led by professor Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, suggested that the teeth of babies with certain genetic variants tend to appear later and that these children possess a lower number of teeth by age one.

"Our findings should provide a strong foundation for the study of the genetic architecture of tooth development, which as well as its relevance to medicine and dentistry may have implications in evolutionary biology since teeth represent important markers of evolution", he concluded.

The study involved analyzing the genetic code accumulated from 6,000 people in Finland and the United Kingdom, researchers discovered gene variants associated with the time the first tooth appears and with the number of teeth by age one.

The findings appear in Friday's issue of the journal PloS Genetics.

One of the identified genes was reported to be linked with a 1.35 times higher susceptibility by requiring costly orthodontic treatment by age 30, the researchers found.

The discovery is expected to propel innovations in the early treatment and prevention of congenital dental problems.