Your baby’s teeth begin forming while your baby is still in the womb, but you probably won’t see your baby’s first tooth until he is about six months. Your baby was born with a full set of primary teeth, also known as baby teeth. Even though you can’t see his baby teeth, they are there waiting to erupt underneath the gums. Once in a while a baby is born with teeth, known as natal teeth, but this only happens in about 1 out of 2,000 births.
Order or baby teeth eruption:
Incisors (front teeth) – Usually your baby’s front teeth or incisors will come in first. Usually the bottom two teeth will come in first, followed by the top two. The bottom teeth may erupt at around 6 months and the top teeth around 8 months. You may also find that your baby’s teeth erupt in pairs.
Lateral incisors –The lateral incisors, which are located directly next to the central incisors, come in next. You can expect your baby’s lateral incisors to erupt around 9 months. Usually the top lateral incisors come in first, followed by the bottom lateral incisors. Often, the top four teeth (central and lateral incisors) will erupt around the same time.
First set of molars – Next to come in are the first molars. You might expect that the canines would come in next since they are located directly next to the incisors, but that is not usually the case. Babies normally get their molars in first, leaving a gap where the canines will eventually come in. The first molars erupt around 13 months.
Canine (eye teeth) – The canine teeth or eye teeth are located to the sides of the lateral incisors. The canine teeth are used for tearing food and will help your baby to eat more textured foods. The canines general erupt around 16 months.
Second set of molars – The second set of molars are sometimes called the two year molars because they generally erupt around your baby’s second birthday.
First permanent molars – These are not technically baby teeth because they will not fall out. Your baby’s first permanent teeth will erupt around the time she is 6 years old.
Print out our free baby tooth chart to record when your baby’s teeth erupt.
When will my baby’s teeth start falling out?
Your baby’s teeth generally fall out in the same order that they erupted. You can expect your little one to lose his first tooth around his sixth birthday. He will continue to lose baby teeth until he is about 12 or 13. If you keep a record of when your baby’s teeth erupt, you can predict the order of when they will fall out.