It can be an exciting time to see your baby’s first tooth poking through! Of course it can also be stressful due to the symptoms of teething. But what is the baby teeth order in terms of them coming through into the mouth? And should you be worried if your child’s pattern of tooth eruption is ‘out of order’? Here are a few notes on the subject.
Knowing when teeth erupt can give you awareness of when teething can start. How many to expect? There are 20 baby teeth in total and they usually come through in pairs (i.e. those on the left and right on the same jaw tend to poke through at around the same time). Females tend to get their first tooth (just) before males. The order of development and eruption tends to have some genetic input.
Our chart below shows you the average times for tooth eruption.
Baby Teeth Order of Eruption
The general primary teeth order of eruption is this:
- The front teeth (central incisors) at the bottom of your baby’s mouth will appear first, at around 6 months of age. So, teething will commonly start around this age (and earlier in some cases).
- A few months later (8-12 months) the upper two front teeth should emerge, soon followed by the second front counterparts (lateral incisors) at 9-13 months.
- The second (lateral) incisors at the bottom will emerge next, at around 10-16 months.
- Next out are the first set of molars (”back tooth”), which usually come through between the ages of 13-19 months. The upper first molars tend to erupt just before the lowers.
- The upper canines (‘eye’ tooth) emerge next, at about 16-22 months. They are usually followed about a month later by the lower canines.
- Last to come through are the second molars. The lowers tend to erupt at about 23-31 months, and the upper second molars follow about two months later.
Please note that this baby teeth order is general, don’t fret if your child’s teeth appear in a slightly different pattern. As you can see from the dates given, there is a wide variation of when they can erupt, and when teething can start!
Here the lower canines are erupting, as usual, after the incisors to the front and first molar to the back.
Baby Teeth Loss Order
As the adult replacements develop and get ready to come into the world, they will eat away at the roots of the baby teeth above them, eventually pushing them out.
The order that deciduous teeth fall out is something like this: (again these times are approximate)
- The first to go are usually the bottom central incisors, at around 6 years of age.
- Within the next 18 months or so, the top central incisors, followed by upper and lower lateral incisors will all have been shed.
- There is a gap of a few years then, when between the ages of 9-11, the first deciduous molars make way for the appearance of the adult premolars.
- The canines are next to drop out, then lastly the second premolars are lost, at around 10-12 years.
Generally speaking, they losing baby teeth comes in a similar pattern to how they erupted, ie first in, first out. There can large differences from this normal pattern, so don’t get alarmed if your child’s tooth loss order seems slightly late or early. However, make sure your child goes for regular check-ups with the dentist.
