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Dental Health and Your Child’s Teeth

The following chart shows when your child’s primary teeth (also called baby teeth) should erupt and fall out.  It is important to note that eruption times can vary from child to child.

Primary Teeth Development Chart

Upper Teeth      When tooth emerges       When tooth falls out

Central Incisor        8 to 12 months                          6 to 7 years

Lateral Incisor        9 to 13 months                          7 to 8 years

Canine                 16 to 22 months                       10 to 12 years

First Molar             13 to 19 months                       9 to 11 years

Second Molar         25 to 33 months                      10 to 12 years

Lower Teeth           

Central Incisor          6 to 10 months                     6 to 7 years

Lateral Incisor         10 to 16 months                     7 to 8 years

Canine                  17 to 23 months                     9 to 12 years

First Molar            14 to 18 months                      9 to 11 years

Second Molar        23 to 31 months                     10 to 12 years 

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 front teeth (central incisors).  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 and a half to 3 years old.  The complete set of baby teeth is in the mouth from the age of 2 and a half to 3 years of age to 6 to 7 years of age.

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.  Baby teeth are smaller in size and whiter in colour than the permanent teeth that will follow.

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces between 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.

While it’s true that primary teeth are only in the mouth for a short period of time, they play a vital role in the following ways:

  • They reserve space for the permanent teeth
  • 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 if difficult to chew causing children to reject foods)
  • They help to give a healthy start to the permanent teeth (decay and infection in the baby teeth can cause dark spots on the permanent teeth developing beneath it)

 Permanent Teeth Eruption Chart

Upper Teeth                 When tooth emerges

Central Incisor                 7 to 8 years

Lateral Incisor                  8 to 9 years

Canine                           11 to 12 years

First Premolar                  10 to 11 years

Second Premolar              10 to 12 years

First Molar                      12 to 13 years

Wisdom Teeth                  17 to 21 years

Lower Teeth                When tooth emerges

Central Incisor                  6 to 7 years

Lateral Incisor                  7 to 8 years

Canine                          9 to 10 years

First Premolar                 10 to 12 years

Second Premolar              11 to 12 years

First Molar                      6 to 7 years

Second Molar                  11 to 13 years

Wisdom Teeth                17 to 21 years

Very often the central incisors will come into the mouth inside the baby teeth.  This is not unusual and they will be pushed forward by the tongue as they come into the mouth.  Permanent teeth begin to come in around the age of 6.  In some children, the first permanent molars are the first to emerge, in others the incisors are the first to emerge.  By the age of 13, most of the 28 permanent teeth will be in place.  One to four wisdom teeth emerge between the ages of 17 and 21, bringing the total number of permanent teeth up to 32.

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Waterfront Dental Clinic, 13 Fee Court, Abbeycartron, Longford, N39 T4A8
Phone: 043 3341979 Email: info@waterfrontdental.ie

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