Eruption Sequence of Baby Teeth
What is the eruption sequence of baby teeth? Which tooth comes out first? Which tooth comes after? Many parents simply aren’t aware of it and yet it is very important to recognize any abnormal eruption pattern. There are several causes where a tooth will fail to erupt, such as congenital missing teeth, impacted teeth, teeth erupting in wrong directions, etc.
In addition, by recognizing the eruption of the very first tooth in the infant, parents can adopt certain preventive measures that minimize the transmission of dental cavities from themselves to their babies. Did I mention cavities can be transferred to other people? You bet! Dental caries is the most common bacterial infection in childhood, more common than any other childhood diseases or infections such as asthma, hay fever, strep throat, flu, you name it. Talk to your dentist about how to reduce the vertical transmission (parent-child transmission) and hence the risk of future cavities in your kids. 
If your parents have lots of cavities and so do you, blame your parents?! 
The following table provides an estimated time frame for each baby tooth to come out. The time is in month.
| Eruption Sequence of Deciduous Teeth (Baby Teeth / Primary Teeth) in months after birth |
|||||
| central incisor |
lateral incisor |
canine | 1st molar | 2nd molar | |
| Upper | 8 | 9 | 18-20 | 14-16 | 22-24 |
| Lower | 6 | 7 | 16-18 | 12-14 | 20-22 |
The above time frames are only estimates. It varies among individuals. Therefore, it’s more important to recognize the eruption sequence rather than the exact eruption time. That is, central incisor > lateral incisor > 1st molar > canine > 2nd molar.
Cheat-sheet
As a general rule, lower teeth erupts before their upper counterparts. For example, lower incisors erupt before upper incisors.
The first tooth to comes out is lower central incisor at the age of 6 months.
First molar comes out during the First year of age.
Second molar comes out during the Second year of age.
By age of 3, all 20 deciduous teeth should be present.
With full eruption, babies have 20 teeth, whereas adults have 32 teeth.
First Dental Visit for Kid
When should a baby start seeing a dentist?
It’s recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics that every child should begin to receive oral health risk assessment by the age of 6 months (ie, when the first tooth starts to come out) from a pediatrician or a qualified pediatric health care professional. [Pediatrics 2003; 111:1113-1116]
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Webist said,
September 12, 2006
Boy I would have loved to see the info as a graphic. Not being a dental student some of the tooth names go over my head. The mention of cavities being contagious is something I always suspected. Maybe we should check out new boy or girlfriends before any serious kissing starts,
Sam Tsai said,
September 12, 2006
Thanks for the input. I’ve put a diagram showing the baby teeth with corresponding names.
It’s definitely possible to transfer dental infection thru kisses from your boyfriends or girlfriends, but the infection is only temporary in older children and adults whereas it may last lifetime in infants.
Concerned Parent said,
May 15, 2007
Hi, I have a child with the eruption of a back tooth (maybe a molar) presenting at 5 months. I can’t find any info about this occurence online. I am concerned, but want to know if I should be concerned or if this is something that I shouldn’t worry about. Let me know if you know anything about this type of thing.
Thanks.
Concerned Parent.
samtsai said,
May 16, 2007
What other teeth does your child have currently, beside the molar? You should see a dentist about the problem.
Concerned Parent said,
May 24, 2007
He’s 5 months and a week. He doesn’t have any teeth yet, it’s his first one. I have a dr’s appt next week, I’ll ask him to take a look at it too, maybe it’s not actually a tooth… Hoping for the best. Thanks for answering my question.
samtsai said,
May 24, 2007
Yes, definitely see a dentist.
The option is just observation. See if other teeth come out at their respective normal times and/or sequence. Usually central incisors come out first around the 6th month after birth.
Best luck.
angie said,
June 13, 2007
My daughter is 7 months old and she has her two bottom teeth. They haven’t fully came all the way up yet but today i noticed a black line on the back of each tooth. Is that a sign of a cavity? What could that be?
samtsai said,
June 26, 2007
Not sure. Need to see it in person to diagnose it properly.
afua said,
August 6, 2007
Is it normal for canine teeth to erupt first. baby is 4 months old.
cassie said,
August 7, 2007
My daughter will be 1 next month. She has her to bottom central insicors. What appears to be one top lateral insicor, and one top central insicor. Her lateral insicor came in before her central insicor, and her central insicor appears to be right in the middle not leaving a place for the second central insicor to come in. I can tell that she is getting another tooth beside of the central insicor, but where the tooth is coming in it should be the other lateral insicor. Is there anything that can be done with a child this young and repositioning the teeth, and is there a chance she will not get the other central insicor? thanks for any informaiton
samtsai said,
August 7, 2007
It’s not a common trend for baby canine to erupt at the age of 4 months, nor to be the first tooth to erupt. There’s nothing you can do, except for observation. Hopefully the canine is in the correct position, and hopefully other teeth will erupt later.
Regarding the central/lateral incisors, it will be good if you can see a dentist to identify which tooth is which and to determine the amount of space available. At this young age, nothing can be done, except to observe the teeth closely. If it’s a space problem (eg, not enough space), then extraction may be required to let the impacted tooth to erupt. But I doubt this is the case. When kids grow, their jaws grow, so there is usually enough space. Sometimes, lateral incisor switches its position with central incisor. The condition is called transposition, but it’s not common. I don’t know. I don’t have a picture of your daughter’s teeth, nor can I palpate her jaw, so I can’t say for sure what’s going on. Visit your dentist.
Is there any family member with the same problem?
kathleen said,
October 16, 2007
my 40 month old girl seems be be getting her first molers
she is having cold fevers at night will not eat and is in a lot of pain this is going on for a week when will this ease a bit when I took her to the doctors he thought she had a kidney infection all came back clear and then I spotted two molers can I help her in any way
breanne said,
October 16, 2007
My son is over 14 months and still has no teeth. Is this something we should be concerned about. The poor thing still has to eat puree everything, while the 6 and 7 month old at his daycare can have puffs, cereal, etc..- he gets jealous and wants to try them, but always ends up choking and throwing up. Any suggestions? Thank_you
melanie said,
October 26, 2007
Hi my 4 month olds canine teeth are the first to come out too, I have never heard of this before, is there anything I can do about this? This site is the first that I see someone else is having the same problem.
sally said,
November 10, 2007
My 9 month old son has both lower central incisors, and I have been expecting the uppers anytime. Last week I noticed a pinhead-sized, hard, smooth white spot on his upper gums that looks like part of a tooth. The location is difficult to describe without a visual, but I will try. The spot (tooth??) is visible, but not protruding from the gums. My main concern is that it is above where I would assume an upper right central incisor would erupt. In other words, it is visible on the face of the gums rather than projecting downward from the ridge of the gums. I have no dental experience, and this is my first child, so all new to me. I just assumed the upper tooth would erupt downward from the ridge of his upper gums, like the lower teeth project upward from the ridge of his lower gums. Is this a normal place for this tooth to erupt? Does this make sense? Thanks.
Shirley said,
November 10, 2007
My daughter is turning 15 mth but only has two lower central incisors. Yesterday, i noticed that she had her lower right 1st molar erupted partially. Is it normal? But her upper central incisors and all the lateral incisors have not erupted yet…. I’m very worried. Please advise. Thanks !
rocky said,
December 18, 2007
My 9 month old son has one upper central incisor. I was expecting his lower central incisor to erupt first. Is this normal? What precation we need to take if any?
Please suggest.
Stephanie said,
January 29, 2008
My 13 month old daughter has 8 teeth…4 upper, 4 lower. Her 1st molar (I hope) looks to be pushing through. It looks very round and puffy and soft to the touch like a filled bubble! Is this what is normal? All the other teeth caused swelling but not so visual as this. Could it be a abcess or something?
Concerned……Any advice?
H Coats said,
March 5, 2008
Hello, My 1 year old has 8 teeth. Her upper central incisiors came in first. She is still missing one of her lower central incisiors, even though the other one has grown in completely. It looks like there is a bump underneath, but it isn’t making any progress. Is this a major concern?
vrenelie flores said,
April 2, 2008
my baby is already 1 year and a month old. but she has no teeth yet. is it normal? if not what should i do. thanks!!!
Prawin said,
May 15, 2008
My baby daughter is 13 months old. She has no teeth yet. What should we do for this. The pediatrician said not to worry, it may come later… Please suggest what to do??? Thanks Prawin