The bluish-purple blood-filled cyst that develops a few weeks before eruption of a molar is called what?

Study for the Pediatric Dentistry II Exam. Utilize flashcards and multiple choice questions with hints and explanations. Prepare thoroughly for your exam!

Eruption hematoma is the bluish-purple, blood-filled swelling that appears in the gingiva over an erupting tooth, typically weeks before eruption. It happens when small blood vessels in the eruption pathway bleed into the soft tissue as the tooth moves toward the surface, producing a vivid hemorrhagic area that looks blue or purple. It’s not a true cyst with an epithelial lining; it’s a hematoma related to the eruption process. Most cases are self-limiting and resolve as the tooth erupts, with no treatment needed unless complications arise.

This differs from a pericoronal (dentigerous) cyst, which forms around the crown of an unerupted tooth and is a true cyst found radiographically around the crown, not a soft tissue hematoma. A gingival cyst is a gingival lesion not specifically linked to eruption timing, and a mucocele is a mucous extravasation lesion usually on the lips or other mucosal surfaces, not tied to the eruption of a tooth.