Most babies get their first tooth between 5 and 10 months old, starting with the lower front teeth. From there, teeth tend to follow a predictable pattern, working from front to back and bottom to top, until all 20 baby teeth are in place by around age 2.5 to 3. Here’s what that timeline actually looks like.
The General Order of Eruption
Babies have 20 primary teeth total: 8 incisors (the front teeth), 4 canines (the pointed ones), and 8 molars (the back teeth). They come in pairs, one on each side, and the lower teeth in each pair usually show up slightly before the upper ones. The full sequence looks like this:
- Lower central incisors (bottom front two): 5 to 9 months
- Upper central incisors (top front two): 8 to 12 months
- Upper lateral incisors (flanking the top front teeth): 10 to 12 months
- Lower lateral incisors (flanking the bottom front teeth): 12 to 15 months
- First molars, upper and lower: 10 to 18 months
- Canines, upper and lower: 16 to 20 months
- Second molars, upper and lower: 20 to 30 months
Notice that the ranges overlap quite a bit. A baby who gets their upper front teeth at 8 months and another who gets them at 12 months are both perfectly on schedule. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry notes that many otherwise normal infants don’t conform strictly to the standard schedule.
Why the Bottom Teeth Usually Come First
The lower central incisors are almost always the first to break through, typically a month or two before their upper counterparts. After those first bottom teeth, the pattern flips briefly: upper central incisors and upper lateral incisors tend to come in before the lower lateral incisors. Then the first molars arrive on both jaws around the same time, followed by the canines, and finally the second molars in the very back.
This front-to-back progression makes sense developmentally. The incisors are thinner and simpler teeth that push through the gum more easily. Molars, with their wider, flatter surfaces, take longer to emerge and fill in last.
What Teething Actually Feels Like for Your Baby
You’ll likely notice teething before you see a tooth. The gums around the incoming tooth get swollen and tender, and your baby will probably drool more than usual. Some babies become fussy or want to chew on everything, while others barely seem to notice.
One common misconception is that teething causes fever. A baby’s temperature may rise very slightly during teething, but a true fever (above 100.4°F or 38°C) is not a symptom of teething. A 2016 study in the journal Pediatrics confirmed this distinction. If your baby has a real fever while teething, something else is going on.
The discomfort tends to be worst with the first few teeth and again when the molars come in, since those are larger and push through more gum tissue. Cold teething rings, gentle gum massage with a clean finger, or a chilled washcloth can help. The fussiness around each tooth typically lasts only a few days.
When Teeth Are “Late”
Some babies don’t get their first tooth until after 12 months, and that’s not automatically a concern. In the general population, the first tooth can appear anywhere from about 6 to 10 months for most babies, but the normal range extends further in both directions. Clinically, eruption is considered delayed if no teeth have appeared by about 10 months of age (40 weeks). At that point, a pediatric dentist can evaluate whether there’s an underlying cause, such as a nutritional deficiency or a genetic factor, or whether your baby is simply on the later end of normal.
Premature babies often follow a shifted timeline. Their teeth tend to erupt later when counted from their birth date, but the delay usually corrects when you factor in their adjusted age (counting from their original due date rather than their actual birthday).
Gender plays almost no role. Research comparing eruption timing between boys and girls has found no meaningful difference for the vast majority of teeth.
The Full Set: What to Expect by Age 3
By around 30 months, most children have all 20 primary teeth. Each jaw holds 4 incisors, 2 canines, and 4 molars, for 10 teeth on top and 10 on the bottom. These teeth will serve your child until they start falling out around age 6, when permanent teeth begin replacing them in roughly the same front-to-back order they arrived.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends scheduling a child’s first dental visit when the first tooth appears, or by their first birthday, whichever comes first. Early visits are mainly about checking that teeth are developing normally and getting guidance on cleaning. Even a single tooth benefits from being wiped with a soft cloth or brushed with a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste, especially before bed.
When Teeth Arrive Out of Order
Not every baby follows the textbook sequence. Some get an upper tooth before any lower teeth. Others skip ahead to lateral incisors before the central ones are fully in. A canine might peek through before a first molar. These variations are common and almost never signal a problem. The overall pattern matters more than the exact order, and as long as teeth are appearing within the broad age ranges and your baby ends up with the full set of 20, the sequence itself is not a cause for concern.