Dental Health: Your Child's Teeth

The following chart shows when primary teeth (also called baby teeth or deciduous teeth) erupt and shed. Please note that eruption times can vary from child to child.

As seen from the chart, the first teeth begin to break through the gums at about 6 months of age. Usually, the first two teeth to erupt are the two bottom central incisors (the two bottom front teeth). Next, the top four front teeth emerge. After that, other teeth slowly begin to fill in, usually in pairs – one each side of the upper or lower jaw – until all 20 teeth (10 in the upper jaw and 10 in the lower jaw) have come in by the time the child is 2 ½ to 3 years old. The complete set of primary teeth is in the mouth from the age of 2 ½ to 3 years of age to 6 to 7 years of age.

Other primary tooth eruption facts:

• A general rule of thumb is that for every 6 months of life, approximately 4 teeth will erupt.
• Girls generally precede boys in tooth eruption
• Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth
• Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs – one on the right and one on the left
• Primary teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than the permanent teeth that will follow
• By the time a child is 2 to 3 years of age, all primary teeth should have erupted

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces between the primary teeth. This is a perfectly natural growth process that provides the necessary space for the larger permanent teeth to emerge. Between the ages of 6 and 12, a mixture of both primary teeth and permanent teeth reside in the mouth.

Why Is it Important to Care for Baby Teeth?

While it's true that primary teeth are only in the mouth a short period of time, they play a vital role.

• They reserve space for their permanent counterparts.
• They give the face its normal appearance.
• They aid in the development of clear speech.
• They help attain good nutrition (missing or decayed teeth make it difficult to chew causing children to reject foods).
• They help give a healthy start to the permanent teeth (decay and infection in baby teeth can cause dark spots on the permanent teeth developing beneath it).

To understand the problems that decaying baby teeth can cause in permanent teeth, see Oral Health Problems in Children.

Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Department of Dentistry.