The order of baby teeth
There are 20 baby teeth (deciduous teeth) that erupt in the first few years of a child’s life. The first teeth to erupt are those at the front of the mouth; then, as the child gets older, their posterior deciduous teeth begin to erupt.
Included here is a baby teeth chart showing the baby teeth order of appearance according to age in months. You will notice that a child’s first deciduous molars erupt before their canines, or “eye teeth”. This is the normal order of appearance for baby teeth and should not be a concern, no matter how strange it may look. The final teeth to erupt are the most posterior deciduous molars.
When do baby teeth come through?
Some children’s teeth erupt much earlier than others, and some children’s teeth take much longer than the norm to appear. This is not a problem, as long as the order of eruption is correct. If you have any concerns that your child’s teeth are not coming through in sequence or you are concerned that they are lagging in eruption, the best thing to do is book your child in for a check-up and assessment.
All deciduous teeth will be lost, generally between the ages of 6 and 13. The sequence of losing deciduous teeth is much the same as that of gaining them, as shown in the baby teeth chart. Also it is important to note that a child’s first permanent molars (otherwise known as their six-year-old molars) will erupt at the age of six. These are adult teeth. A child does not need to lose a deciduous tooth for a six-year-old molar to erupt; the six-year-old molar erupts behind the very back baby molar. These adult molars can often be a surprise to parents as they usually cause no pain as they come through the gum.
When a child loses their lower front baby teeth, the adult incisors making their way through the gum can often come up behind the wobbly baby incisors. This is not a concern generally and is mostly remedied by encouraging a child to wobble out their teeth. To fall out, baby teeth need to be helped along. Your child should ideally be encouraged to wobble out their baby teeth as much as possible.