Eruption of the Primar Dentition in Human Infants

Resident’s Name: Anna Haritos Date: March 20, 2009
Article title: Eruption of the primary dentition in human infants: a prospective descriptive study
Author(s): Hulland et al
Journal: Pediatic Dentistry
Volume (number): 22:5
Month, Year: 2000
Major topic: clinical process of primary dentition eruption
Minor topic(s): n/a
Type of Article: Research (prospective cohort study)
Main Purpose: to investigate the clinical process of the emergence phase of eruption of the primary dentition including length of time taken to erupt and the association between soft tissue changes and stages of eruption
Overview of method of research: 21 healthy infants between 6 and 24 months without a history of medical condition that could influence tooth eruption were selected for this study. These infants were selected from three suburban daycare centers in Melbourne, Australia. During mid-morning on each weekday for 7 months, a dental hygienist went to each daycare and did an oral examination involving tacticle and visual observations of alveolar ridges at each primary dentition site. Any redness or swelling was recorded as well as stage of tooth eruption. “full eruption state” was when one quarter of the crown of the tooth had erupted. Redeness was recorded as present or absent. There were four stages of swelling – normal alveolar ridge, slight soft tissue swelling, obvious soft tissue swelling, and eruption cyst. Five stages of eruption were defined: no signs of eruption, palpable, emergent, partial eruption, or all cusps visible.
Findings: 128 teeth were observed. It was infrequent for swelling to accompany tooth eruption; when there was swelling, it was mild. There was no significant relationship between redness and specific stages of eruption. Forty-nine percent of teeth demonstrated gingival redness during the emergence stages. Mean duration of eruption from point of palpation to full eruption as 2.0 months. Teeth seemed to have an ‘oscillating’ pattern of eruption, with periods of emergence and then retreating. The study defined this as a transitional phase of eruption.
Key points/Summary: The preferred theory for tooth eruption right now involves the periodontal ligament – it has been suggested that the periodontal ligament is influenced by a diurnal-nocturnal rhythm in human-growth-factor – and this HGH influences the post-emergent stage of eruption.
Assessment of article : nice article to have in the back of your head when talking to parents about eruption