Tooth eruption versus tooth emergence

Abstract

The use of the term 'eruption' to designate the moment a tooth breaks out through the gum is a common linguistic misconception. We think the term 'emergence' is more appropriate. However, the dental literature has employed the term 'eruption' much earlier and more frequently. In this paper, we have addressed this misconception in detail, provided some statistics about the use of the two terms in the dental literature and provided our recommendations.