How teeth erupt.

The cause of delayed eruption is usually obvious and treatable (as with lack of space or impeding supernumerary teeth). However, in some cases there is no obvious cause. Treatment of these cases might be easier if we fully understood the mechanism of eruption itself. Unfortunately, the precise process of generating the eruptive force for teeth has not yet been fully elucidated. Various hypotheses have been put forward. In this article the author reviews current theories, and describes some of the experimental difficulties in testing them.