Baby Teeth Timeline
When should you expect your baby’s teeth to start coming in? The average age for baby teeth to break through is 6 months old. But baby teeth can start as early as 3 months and as late as 12 months. During this painful process, Orajel™ Baby Cooling Gels can help ease pain for your baby as they develop their first set of teeth. Around age 5 or 6 your child starts losing baby teeth and adult teeth grow in. Between the ages of 6-12 your child has a mix of both baby and adult teeth.
Most likely, the molars are the first teeth to break through and you can expect the last baby tooth to fall out around 12 years old. By age 13, your child should be rocking a full set of 28 adult teeth.
Types of Chompers
By age 3, your child has 20 primary teeth. These teeth are categorized into 5 main types, each serving a unique purpose.
Central Incisors
These front teeth help with biting food into small chewable pieces.
Lateral Incisors
Located between the front teeth and the canines, lateral incisors also help cut food into small bites for easier chewing.
Canines
These teeth are sharp and pointy in order to grip and tear food.
First Molars
The rectangular teeth in the back, molars have a flat surface to grind food.
Second Molars
Like first molars, these back teeth help grind food with their flat surfaces.
Fun Facts about Baby Teeth
- Baby teeth help save space for adult teeth to grow in place.
- Girls generally get their teeth before boys.
- Lower molar teeth normally come in before upper teeth.
- Babies tend to get their teeth symmetrically, so the left and right of each tooth pop up at similar times.
- Baby teeth are normally whiter than adult teeth because they have thinner enamel.
- Baby teeth help with chewing but they also help with smiling, speaking, and saying words correctly.
- Teeth begin forming in the womb.
