Tooth Eruption

The first baby teeth to erupt into the mouth are the two bottom front teeth. You will usually notice this when your baby is about six to eight months old. Next to follow will likely be the two upper front teeth. The remainder of the front teeth, the cuspids, and then the first set of molars will follow in the next twelve to eighteen months.  They will usually erupt in pairs along both sides of the jaws, and by age two the majority of toddlers have 16 teeth..  Finally between two and three years of age the baby second molars will arrive in the back to complete the set of 20 primary teeth.  There is a lot of variability in age of tooth eruption.  Babies can get their first tooth as early as two to three months, or as late as twelve or fourteen months.  This is all considered normal.

For the majority of children the first permanent teeth will begin to erupt between five and a half and six and a half years of age.  The lower front teeth are usually the first to come in, and around this same time the first set of permanent molars erupt in the back behind the last baby molars.  There is usually no discomfort associated with the eruption of these new teeth.

Baby teeth are important as they not only hold space for permanent teeth, but they play a vital role in chewing, biting, speech, and appearance.  The last of the baby molars will stay in a child’s mouth until age eleven or twelve (again there is some variability).  So maintaining healthy diet and snacking habits as well as good daily oral hygiene is very important from infancy onwards.