Determinants of Primary Tooth Eruption and Development

Primary tooth eruption and development are governed by a complex interplay of genetic programming, maternal and perinatal influences, nutritional status and broader environmental factors. Genetically, multiple loci regulate the timing and sequence in which deciduous teeth emerge, reflecting pathways shared with craniofacial growth and systemic development. Maternal factors such as age at childbirth, gestational health, birth weight and intrauterine growth patterns exert measurable effects on eruption timing, as do postnatal variables including breast-feeding duration, infant nutrition and general somatic growth. Socioeconomic and regional conditions further modulate these determinants through differences in diet, health care access and exposure to environmental influences. Clinically, understanding the normative curves of eruption chronology aids in identifying deviations that may signal underlying growth disorders or developmental anomalies. Recent advances in large‐scale surveys and population modelling have refined reference standards, enabling practitioners to monitor dental development alongside traditional growth indices and to apply tailored interventions where delays or accelerations occur.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Analyses of national growth surveys involving over 200,000 Chinese children born between 1995 and 2015 reveal a slight secular advance in median eruption age of primary teeth over two decades, with boys erupting marginally earlier than girls and persistent north–south regional disparities. These findings underscore the stability of gender and geographic differences even amid rapid social development, and supply updated percentile curves for clinical reference. Complementing this, a cohort study in eastern China has demonstrated that higher maternal age, female sex and low birth weight are associated with delayed emergence of the first primary tooth, whereas macrosomia predicts earlier eruption. Such work highlights the enduring influence of perinatal health and infant anthropometry on early dental milestones.

Determinants of Primary Tooth Eruption and Development publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in determinants of primary tooth eruption and development across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Eruption chronology: The sequence and timing in which primary teeth penetrate the gingiva and become clinically visible.

Probit analysis: A statistical technique used to derive percentile curves for age-related biological events.

Genome-wide association study (GWAS): A method that scans the entire genome to identify genetic variants associated with a particular trait.

Macrosomia: A condition in which a newborn has an excessive birth weight, often defined as more than 4 kg.

Corrected age: The age of a preterm infant calculated from the expected due date rather than the actual birth date, used to adjust growth and developmental assessments.

References

1. Secular changes in eruption of primary teeth in Chinese infants and young children from three national cross-sectional surveys. Scientific Reports (2024).
2. Associations of maternal, perinatal and postnatal factors with the eruption timing of the first primary tooth. Scientific Reports (2019).
3. Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Multiple Loci Associated with Primary Tooth Development during Infancy. PLOS Genetics (2010).
4. Wich factors influencing the number of teeth at 12 months of age: a birth cohort study. Brazilian Oral Research (2021).
5. Prediction of deciduous teeth eruption in Brazilian children: A cross-sectional study nested in a prospective birth cohort (BRISA). BMC Oral Health (2024).