Most babies get their first tooth between 6 and 12 months old, with the lower front teeth typically appearing first around 5 to 9 months. Every baby is different, though. Some start as early as 4 months, others not until after their first birthday, and a small number are even born with teeth already in place.
The Typical Eruption Timeline
The lower central incisors, the two bottom front teeth, are almost always the first to show up. They tend to break through the gums between 5 and 9 months. The upper front teeth follow shortly after, usually between 8 and 12 months. From there, teeth continue appearing in a roughly predictable pattern over the next two years:
- Upper and lower front teeth (central incisors): 5 to 12 months
- Side teeth next to the front ones (lateral incisors): 9 to 16 months
- First back teeth (first molars): 10 to 19 months
- Pointed teeth between the front and back (canines): 16 to 23 months
- Second back teeth (second molars): 20 to 33 months
By age 3, most children have all 20 of their baby teeth. Lower teeth generally emerge a bit earlier than their upper counterparts, though this isn’t a hard rule.
How Long Each Tooth Takes to Come In
Once you notice a swollen ridge on your baby’s gum, the tooth won’t pop through overnight. A prospective study tracking infant tooth eruption found that the average time from a palpable bump in the gum to a fully visible tooth was about 2 months, with a range of roughly 1 to 5 months. That means the process can feel like it drags on, especially when multiple teeth are working their way through at the same time.
What Teething Actually Feels Like for Your Baby
Teething has a reputation for causing all sorts of misery, but clinical evidence paints a more limited picture. The symptoms that consistently show up in studies are gum irritation (reported in about 87% of teething infants), irritability (about 68%), and excessive drooling (about 56%). Increased biting and gnawing is also common, likely your baby’s instinctive attempt to relieve pressure on the gums. Sleep disturbances and mild rashes around the mouth or chin from all that drool can happen too.
These symptoms tend to cluster in an 8-day window: the 4 days before a tooth breaks through, the day it erupts, and the 3 days after. So if your baby seems unusually fussy for about a week and then improves, teething is a reasonable explanation.
The Fever Question
One of the most persistent beliefs is that teething causes fever. It doesn’t, at least not in any meaningful clinical sense. Multiple systematic reviews have confirmed that while a baby’s temperature may rise very slightly around the day a tooth erupts, the increase is small, typically peaking around 37.6°C (99.7°F), which falls below the threshold for a true fever (38°C or 100.4°F). If your baby has a temperature above 100.4°F, something else is going on, and teething shouldn’t be treated as the explanation. The same goes for vomiting and significant diarrhea, which studies have found no real association with tooth eruption.
Soothing Teething Pain Safely
The simplest and safest approaches are physical ones. A clean, chilled (not frozen) teething ring or washcloth gives your baby something firm to press against their gums. Gently rubbing a clean finger along the gum ridge can also provide relief. Cold can help numb mild soreness, which is why refrigerated teething rings work well.
What you should avoid matters just as much. The FDA has warned against homeopathic teething tablets, particularly those containing belladonna. Testing of products from major brands found that levels of active compounds like atropine and scopolamine varied wildly from tablet to tablet, sometimes far exceeding the labeled amounts. These products pose a real risk and should be discarded if you have them. The FDA’s position on numbing gels is also clear: babies do not need medicine rubbed on their gums for teething.
When Teeth Come Early or Late
About 1 in every 289 newborns arrives with one or more teeth already present, known as natal teeth. These are usually lower front teeth and are often slightly wobbly or underdeveloped. In many cases, natal teeth don’t need any treatment. A dental specialist will evaluate whether they’re loose enough to pose a choking risk, whether they’re injuring the baby’s tongue, or whether they’re causing problems with breastfeeding. If any of those apply, the teeth are removed. Sometimes providers will run additional tests to check for an underlying genetic condition.
On the other end, some babies still have no teeth well past their first birthday. The normal window for a first tooth extends up to about 10 months of age, and eruption beyond that point is considered delayed. Premature babies are more likely to teethe late, especially those born very early (before 30 weeks) or at very low birth weight (under about 2.2 pounds). Factors tied to the severity of illness in the newborn period, particularly time spent on a breathing tube, account for the biggest share of the delay. For full-term babies who are otherwise healthy, late teething is usually just a variation of normal, but it’s worth mentioning to your pediatrician if no teeth have appeared by 18 months.
First Dental Visit Timing
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends scheduling your child’s first dental visit by their first birthday or within six months of their first tooth, whichever comes first. This initial visit is straightforward. The dentist checks the teeth and gums, looks for early signs of decay, and sets a schedule for future checkups. Starting early also gets your child used to the dental office before they’re old enough to develop anxiety about it.