[Mechanisms of tooth eruption]

Abstract

Tooth eruption is of the utmost importance for the normal development of the dentition and the face. Since the 1980s, it has been known that the tooth germ itself is not essential for facilitating the processes that make tooth eruption possible. For that reason, recent research on the regulatory mechanisms of tooth eruption has focused mainly on the enamel organ and the dental follicle. Different regulatory mechanisms act on the occlusal and the apical sides of an erupting tooth. On the occlusal side osteoclast differentiation is stimulated. This leads to the development of an eruption canal, a process in which macrophages and matrix metalloproteases also play an important role. On the apical side the most important factors are the transcription factor RUNX2 and the bone morphogenic protein 2. They are responsible for the deposition of trabecular bone in that area. Many regulatory mechanisms which are involved in tooth eruption are also active in other developmental processes. This explains that certain syndromes can also have an effect on the tooth eruption process.