Before permanent teeth come in, a child’s primary teeth — commonly known as baby teeth — will erupt. The technical term for these is deciduous teeth, because they eventually fall out. While adults have 32 teeth on average — 28 if they’ve had their wisdom teeth removed — children have far fewer baby teeth.
While every child is different, most begin teething around 6 months of age, leading to the eruption of their first tooth. The first tooth to erupt is typically one of the bottom front teeth — also known as the bottom incisors. These are followed by:
- The top incisors — or top front teeth — which develop next at about 6 to 10 months.
- Top lateral incisors come through on either side of the top front teeth at around 8 to 12 months.
- Bottom lateral incisors come through on either side of the bottom front teeth at around 7 to 10 months.
- The first molars — which can be found at the back of the mouth — typically come through at around 11 to 18 months.
- Canines come through at around 16 to 20 months.
- The second molars at around 20 to 30 months.
Children have ten teeth on top and ten teeth on the bottom — totaling up to 20. Most children have all of their baby teeth by the time they reach 2 to 3 years of age. These are just as important to take care of as permanent teeth, so remember to always practice proper oral hygiene with your child.
