Toddlers get a total of 20 baby teeth, though most won’t have the full set until around age 3. At any given point during the toddler years, the number in your child’s mouth depends on their age and individual timing. A 1-year-old might have 4 to 8 teeth, a 2-year-old typically has 16 to 20, and by age 3 most children have all 20.
The Full Set: 20 Baby Teeth
The primary (baby) dentition includes 8 incisors, 4 canines, and 8 molars, split evenly between the upper and lower jaws. All 20 of these teeth are already present inside your baby’s jawbones at birth. They simply erupt through the gums on their own schedule over the first three years of life.
When Each Tooth Typically Appears
Teeth generally arrive in a predictable order, starting at the front of the mouth and working backward. The bottom two center teeth (lower central incisors) usually come first, between 5 and 8 months. The upper center teeth follow at around 6 to 10 months. By the time your child turns 1, they’ll likely have somewhere between 4 and 8 front teeth.
The lateral incisors, the teeth flanking those center ones, fill in between 7 and 12 months. Then there’s a brief pause before the first molars appear between 11 and 18 months. The canines (the pointed teeth between the incisors and molars) come in around 16 to 20 months. The second molars, the very last baby teeth to arrive, typically emerge between 20 and 30 months.
Here’s the general order:
- Central incisors: 5 to 10 months
- Lateral incisors: 7 to 12 months
- First molars: 11 to 18 months
- Canines: 16 to 20 months
- Second molars: 20 to 30 months
Lower teeth tend to erupt slightly before their upper counterparts. And many perfectly healthy children don’t follow this schedule exactly, so a few months early or late is no cause for concern.
Tooth Count by Age
Because parents often want a quick reference, here’s roughly what to expect. By 12 months, most children have about 6 to 8 teeth, all incisors. By 18 months, most have around 12 teeth as the first molars come in. By age 2, most toddlers have 16 to 20 teeth, with only the second molars potentially still missing. By age 3, the full set of 20 is usually in place.
These are averages. Some children cut teeth early and have a nearly full set before their second birthday. Others are late bloomers who don’t finish until closer to age 3. Both scenarios are normal.
Two-Year Molars: The Last to Arrive
The second molars are often called “two-year molars” because they show up between roughly 23 and 33 months. They’re the largest baby teeth and sit at the very back of the mouth, which can make their eruption particularly uncomfortable. Expect the usual teething signs: extra drooling, red or swollen gums, fussiness, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, and plenty of chewing on anything available.
A slight rise in temperature can happen during teething, but a true fever above 100.4°F (38°C) is not caused by teething. If your toddler has a high fever while cutting molars, something else is going on.
When Teeth Are Missing or Late
Congenitally missing baby teeth, where one or more teeth simply never developed, are rare. The prevalence is less than 1% in most populations. In the vast majority of cases, a “late” tooth is just slow, not absent. If your child still hasn’t cut any teeth by 12 to 14 months, or if there’s a big gap in the expected pattern, it’s worth mentioning at a dental visit. In very rare cases, missing teeth are linked to genetic conditions that affect hair, nails, and sweat glands, but isolated late eruption is far more common.
Caring for Your Toddler’s Teeth
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends establishing a dental home by age 1. That first visit is mostly about checking development and getting your child comfortable in the dental chair.
At home, start brushing as soon as the first tooth appears. For children under 3, use a smear of fluoride toothpaste about the size of a grain of rice. Once they turn 3, you can increase to a pea-sized amount. Children this age swallow most of what’s in their mouth, so keeping the amount small matters. Brush twice a day, and do the brushing yourself rather than handing the toothbrush over. Toddlers lack the coordination to clean their own teeth effectively until around age 6.
Baby teeth hold space for permanent teeth and play a key role in speech development and chewing, so cavities in them are worth preventing and treating, not dismissing because “they’ll fall out anyway.” The first baby teeth typically don’t start loosening until around age 6, which means those 20 teeth need to last several years.