When will my child's teeth erupt?
The age at which teeth erupt into your child's mouth varies widely among different children.
Babies are born with their primary (baby) teeth formed underneath the gums, but these baby teeth do not start appearing until many months later. In general, the first baby teeth to erupt are usually the lower front teeth, and they come in between the ages of 6-10 months. Although all 20 primary teeth usually appear by age 3, the pace and order of their eruption varies from child to child.
Your child's first permanent (adult) teeth begin appearing around age 6, starting with the first molars and the lower front teeth. These are important teeth because they help shape the lower part of your child’s face, as well as affect the position of your child's other permanent teeth. Thereafter, your child's baby teeth will begin to fall out (exfoliate) to make room for his/her permanent teeth. Around the age of 12, your child may have a full set of permanent teeth, having lost all his/her baby teeth. Wisdom teeth, or 3rd molars, usually appear between the ages 17 and 21. Oftentimes, these teeth become impacted and will require extraction.
Doctor Wang, Doctor Perea-Corkish, Doctor Gerodias and the other Doctors of Discovery Pediatric Dentistry make no warranties, expressed or implied, as to any results to be obtained from use of the information on this page. We cannot diagnose or treat patients over the Internet. Information on this site is for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for personal, medical, and/or dental attention or diagnosis. Without all available information about a patient, it is impossible to make a diagnosis. Help and answers are in the form of general ideas. Only you, your dentist, and other necessary and qualified health care providers can make an appropriate treatment decision in an emergency or for everyday care and dental treatment.