Erupted primary teeth were recorded in 1446 South African children fro
m five communities. The data were grouped into 3-month age bands and s
ubjected to Probit analysis.(24) Eruption times were similar in boys a
nd girls. Apart from children of lndian descent having significantly f
ewer incisor teeth erupted at one year compared to the four other grou
ps, there were no significant differences in canine and molar eruption
times among the children. This paper defines primary tooth eruption a
ges in South African children for anthropological, clinical and forens
ic use.