The first baby teeth to fall out are almost always the two bottom front teeth, called the lower central incisors. Most children lose these between ages 6 and 7, kicking off a process that continues until roughly age 12 or 13 when the last baby teeth finally give way to their permanent replacements.
The Full Order of Baby Tooth Loss
Baby teeth tend to fall out in a predictable sequence, and it closely mirrors the order they originally came in. The bottom front teeth arrived first as an infant, and they leave first too. Here’s the typical timeline, based on data from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry:
- Lower central incisors (bottom front teeth): 6 to 7 years
- Upper central incisors (top front teeth): 7 to 8 years
- Lower lateral incisors (bottom sides of front teeth): 7 to 8 years
- Upper lateral incisors (top sides of front teeth): 8 to 9 years
- Lower canines (bottom “fang” teeth): 9 to 11 years
- Upper first molars: 9 to 11 years
- Lower first molars: 10 to 12 years
- Upper canines: 11 to 12 years
- Upper second molars: 9 to 12 years
- Lower second molars: 11 to 13 years
The front eight teeth (four on top, four on bottom) are usually all gone by age 9. Then there’s a bit of a gap before the canines and molars follow. The very last baby teeth to go are typically the lower second molars, which can hang on until age 13. So the full process of losing baby teeth spans about six to seven years.
Why Baby Teeth Fall Out
A baby tooth doesn’t just randomly loosen. Underneath it, the permanent tooth is slowly pushing upward, and this triggers a biological chain reaction. Specialized cells break down the root of the baby tooth from the bottom up, gradually dissolving it. At the same time, the chewing forces your child applies every day add mechanical stress that accelerates the process. By the time a tooth feels wiggly, most of its root has already been absorbed. Eventually so little root remains that the tooth hangs on by just a thin thread of gum tissue, and it falls out or comes free with a gentle pull.
This is why a loose baby tooth doesn’t bleed much when it finally comes out. The living tissue inside the tooth has largely broken down by that point, and the body has done most of the work ahead of time.
When the First Tooth Feels Loose
Most children notice their first loose tooth around age 6, though it’s completely normal for the process to start as late as age 7. The tooth may feel slightly wiggly for weeks before it’s ready to come out. Kids often notice it while eating, and it’s common for a loose front tooth to gradually tilt forward before it finally falls free.
Once a baby tooth falls out, the permanent tooth is usually not far behind. In many cases, you can already see the edge of the new tooth poking through the gum before the baby tooth has even dropped. For other kids, it may take a few weeks or even a couple of months for the permanent tooth to fully appear, which is normal and not a reason to worry.
What “Shark Teeth” Look Like
Sometimes the permanent tooth doesn’t grow directly underneath the baby tooth. Instead, it comes in behind it, creating a second row that looks a bit like shark teeth. This happens because the permanent tooth’s pressure isn’t hitting the baby tooth’s root head-on, so the root doesn’t dissolve on schedule and the baby tooth stays put.
In most cases, the baby tooth will still loosen and fall out on its own within a few weeks once the permanent tooth is partially through. But if the baby tooth stays firm and shows no signs of loosening, or if the permanent tooth has fully come in behind it, a dentist may recommend removing the baby tooth. Left alone too long, a double row can cause crowding and alignment problems. If your child has pain, swelling, or trouble chewing alongside shark teeth, that’s another sign to get it checked.
Too Early or Too Late
Losing a baby tooth well before age 6, especially from a fall or injury rather than natural loosening, can create problems. When a baby tooth disappears too soon, the neighboring teeth may drift into the empty space over months and years. By the time the permanent tooth is ready to come through, there’s no longer enough room for it, which can lead to crowding or crooked alignment. In these situations, a dentist may place a small device called a space maintainer to hold the gap open until the permanent tooth arrives on its own schedule.
On the other end, some children don’t lose their first tooth until age 7 or slightly later. This is usually just a variation of normal timing. Children who got their baby teeth later as infants tend to lose them later too. Girls, on average, lose their baby teeth slightly earlier than boys, though the difference is small. If your child still hasn’t lost any teeth by age 8, it’s worth having a dentist take an X-ray to confirm that permanent teeth are developing normally underneath.
Lower Teeth Before Upper Teeth
One pattern parents often notice is that bottom teeth fall out before their upper counterparts. The lower central incisors go before the upper central incisors. The lower lateral incisors go before the upper lateral incisors. The lower canines typically beat the upper canines by a year or two. This bottom-first pattern holds for most of the front teeth, though it gets less consistent with the molars.
This also means many kids spend a stretch of time with a gap-toothed bottom smile while their top teeth are still intact, followed by the classic look of missing top front teeth around age 7 or 8. Both stages are a completely normal part of the transition and don’t signal anything about how the permanent teeth will eventually line up.