Teething starts around 6 months of age and finishes by about age 3, when all 20 primary teeth have typically come in. That’s roughly two and a half years from the first tooth to the last. But the discomfort isn’t constant. Each individual tooth causes symptoms for only about 3 to 8 days, meaning your baby experiences teething pain in short bursts spread across that longer window.
When Each Type of Tooth Appears
The lower front teeth (central incisors) are usually first, showing up between 5 and 8 months. The upper front teeth follow close behind at 6 to 10 months. From there, teeth generally fill in from front to back:
- Lateral incisors (next to the front teeth): 7 to 12 months
- First molars: 11 to 18 months
- Canines (the pointed teeth): 16 to 20 months
- Second molars (the very back teeth): 20 to 30 months
These ranges come from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, which also notes that many perfectly healthy babies don’t follow this schedule precisely. Some babies are born with a tooth already visible. Others don’t get their first tooth until after their first birthday. If your child hasn’t developed any teeth by 9 months, it’s worth mentioning to your pediatrician, but true delays are uncommon.
What Happens Inside the Gums
A tooth doesn’t just pop through overnight. The process happens in stages, starting long before you see anything. First, the tooth forms deep inside the jawbone and develops partial roots. Then it begins moving upward through the bone as the tissue above it breaks down to create a path. This vertical push is what eventually brings the tooth to the surface of the gum.
When the tip of the tooth finally pierces the gum tissue, it triggers a small inflammatory response in the surrounding tissue. That localized inflammation is what causes the redness, swelling, and tenderness you can see and feel. Once the tooth clears the gum and settles into position, the inflammation resolves and the gum tissue heals around the base of the new tooth.
How Long Each Tooth Hurts
The worst of teething discomfort is concentrated in a narrow window around the moment the tooth breaks through. Pain typically begins a few days before the tooth becomes visible and fades a few days after, totaling about 3 to 8 days per tooth. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles puts the onset of teething pain as early as 4 months, even before any tooth is visible, because the teeth are already pushing upward beneath the gums.
Not every tooth causes the same level of fuss. The front teeth are small and thin, so they tend to slide through with less drama. Molars, with their broad, flat surfaces, have more gum tissue to push through and are more likely to cause noticeable discomfort. Since the second molars come in last, between 20 and 30 months, some parents find that the tail end of teething is actually harder than the beginning.
Common Symptoms and What’s Normal
The hallmarks of teething are drooling, fussiness, swollen gums, and a strong urge to chew on anything within reach. Your baby may refuse food, pull at their ears, or have a mildly elevated temperature. A true fever (above 100.4°F) is not a normal teething symptom and points to something else going on.
One thing parents often blame on teething is disrupted sleep. Interestingly, a longitudinal study published in The Journal of Pediatrics that used video recordings to track infant sleep found no significant differences in sleep patterns between teething and non-teething nights. That doesn’t mean your baby won’t wake up more during a rough teething stretch, but if sleep problems persist for more than a few nights, teething may not be the real cause.
Safe Ways to Ease Teething Pain
The simplest relief is pressure on the gums. Rubbing your baby’s gums with a clean finger works well, as does giving them a firm rubber teething ring to chew on. The ring should be solid rubber, not liquid-filled, and it should be cool but not frozen. A frozen teether is hard enough to bruise tender gums.
What you should avoid matters just as much. The FDA warns against using any topical numbing gels or liquids containing benzocaine or lidocaine on babies’ gums. Benzocaine can cause a rare but serious blood condition that reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Lidocaine solutions carry risks of seizures, heart problems, and severe brain injury if too much is absorbed or accidentally swallowed. Both offer little actual benefit for teething pain, making the risk entirely not worth it.
A chilled washcloth is another simple option. Wet a clean washcloth, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes, and let your baby gnaw on it. The combination of texture and cool temperature soothes inflamed gums without any medication.
The Full Timeline at a Glance
If your baby gets their first tooth at 6 months and their last molar at 30 months, you’re looking at about two years of on-and-off teething. With 20 teeth to come in and each one causing roughly a week of symptoms, the total amount of actual discomfort adds up to maybe 20 weeks spread across that period. Most of the time between eruptions, your baby’s gums are quiet. The process feels long in the thick of it, but the painful stretches are short and self-resolving.