Most children lose all 20 baby teeth by age 12 or 13. The process starts around age 6, when the bottom front teeth loosen and fall out, and wraps up six or seven years later when the last molars in the back of the mouth finally shed. That’s a wide window, and every child moves through it at a slightly different pace.
The Typical Timeline, Tooth by Tooth
Baby teeth fall out in roughly the same order they came in. The bottom two front teeth (central incisors) go first, usually between ages 6 and 7. The top two front teeth follow at 7 to 8. From there, the process moves outward and backward through the mouth:
- Lateral incisors (the teeth flanking the front ones): bottom pair at 7 to 8, top pair at 8 to 9
- Lower canines (the pointed teeth): 9 to 11
- First molars: top at 9 to 11, bottom at 10 to 12
- Upper canines: 11 to 12
- Second molars (the very last baby teeth): top at 9 to 12, bottom at 11 to 13
The second molars are the finish line. Once those are gone, the full set of permanent teeth can settle into place. By age 13, most children have all their adult teeth.
Why Baby Teeth Fall Out
A baby tooth doesn’t just get pushed out by the adult tooth growing underneath it. The body actively dissolves the roots of the baby tooth in a controlled process called root resorption. Cells similar to the ones that remodel bone break down the root material bit by bit. The permanent tooth developing below sends chemical signals that kick off and regulate this breakdown. As the root shrinks, the baby tooth loses its anchor in the jawbone, gets progressively looser, and eventually falls out with very little holding it in place.
This is why a baby tooth that comes out naturally is so small and rootless compared to what was originally embedded in the gum. The root didn’t snap off. It was slowly absorbed over months.
Girls Tend to Lose Teeth Earlier Than Boys
Up to about age 5 or 6, boys and girls develop their teeth on nearly identical schedules. After that, girls pull ahead. Their teeth mature faster in the later stages of development, which means they typically lose baby teeth and see permanent teeth arrive a bit sooner. The gap isn’t dramatic, often just a few months, but it’s consistent across studies. If your daughter’s classmates are losing teeth while your son’s are still firmly in place, this is a normal pattern rather than a sign of delay.
When Teeth Fall Out Too Early
Losing a baby tooth a year or more before its expected window counts as premature loss. The most common cause is tooth decay that damages the tooth beyond saving. Dental injuries from falls or sports can also knock a tooth out well ahead of schedule. Poor oral hygiene plays a role too, since untreated cavities can weaken a tooth to the point where it breaks apart or needs extraction.
Early loss matters because baby teeth do more than chew food. They hold space in the jaw for the permanent teeth lining up underneath. When a baby tooth disappears too soon, neighboring teeth can drift into the gap, crowding out the adult tooth that eventually tries to come in. A dentist may recommend a space maintainer, a small device that keeps the gap open until the permanent tooth is ready to emerge.
When Baby Teeth Stick Around Too Long
A baby tooth that refuses to leave is called an over-retained tooth, and it deserves attention if a permanent tooth on the opposite side of the mouth has already come in and the matching baby tooth hasn’t budged within about four to six months. Another red flag is when a permanent tooth is more than a year behind its expected arrival date.
The single most common reason a baby tooth overstays is that there’s no permanent tooth underneath it at all. Some people are congenitally missing one or more adult teeth, most often the upper lateral incisors or the lower second premolars. Without that developing replacement sending signals to dissolve the root, the baby tooth has no biological reason to loosen.
Other causes include a permanent tooth growing in at an odd angle and missing its target, a baby tooth that has fused to the surrounding bone (ankylosis), or infections around the root that disrupt normal resorption. In rare cases, certain genetic conditions can delay the shedding process across multiple teeth. A dental X-ray can quickly reveal whether an adult tooth is present, where it’s positioned, and whether intervention is needed.
What “Normal” Really Looks Like
The published age ranges are averages drawn from large groups of children. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry notes that many otherwise normal children don’t follow the standard schedule precisely. A child who loses a first tooth at 5 and a half or not until 7 and a half can still be perfectly on track. What matters more than hitting exact ages is the overall pattern: teeth should loosen and fall out in a roughly predictable sequence, and permanent teeth should appear in the gaps within a reasonable time frame.
If your child hasn’t lost any teeth by age 8, or if several teeth seem stuck well past the ages listed above, an X-ray can show what’s happening below the gumline and whether the permanent teeth are developing normally. In most cases, the teeth are simply taking their time.