Most babies get their first tooth around 6 months of age. The two bottom front teeth typically break through first, followed by the four upper front teeth. From there, the remaining baby teeth fill in gradually until your child has a full set of 20 by roughly age 2½ to 3.
That said, the range of normal is wide. Some babies sprout a tooth as early as 4 months, while others don’t see one until closer to their first birthday. The timing is largely genetic and rarely signals a problem.
The Full Eruption Timeline
Baby teeth tend to arrive in pairs, one on the right and one on the left, and lower teeth generally come in before their upper counterparts. Here’s the typical order and timing:
- Lower central incisors (bottom front two): 6 to 10 months
- Upper central incisors (top front two): 8 to 12 months
- Upper lateral incisors (flanking the front two): 9 to 13 months
- Lower lateral incisors: 10 to 16 months
- First molars (upper): 13 to 19 months
- First molars (lower): 14 to 18 months
- Upper canines: 16 to 22 months
- Lower canines: 17 to 23 months
- Lower second molars: 23 to 31 months
- Upper second molars: 25 to 33 months
Notice the overlap in those ranges. It’s completely normal for a baby to get upper front teeth before the lower laterals, or for molars to arrive a few months early or late. The sequence matters more than the exact month.
How Teeth Push Through the Gums
Long before you see a white edge poking through, your baby’s teeth are forming below the gumline inside the jawbone. For a tooth to erupt, cells in the surrounding bone have to actively break down and clear a path. At the same time, new bone forms behind and beneath the tooth to push it upward. This process of bone being removed in one spot and rebuilt in another is what gradually moves the tooth through the jaw and out through the gum tissue. It’s slow, which is why teething stretches over months rather than happening all at once.
What Teething Actually Feels Like for Your Baby
Teething has a reputation for causing major misery, but the American Academy of Pediatrics says babies who are teething are “little different from kids who are not teething.” The real symptoms are mild and short-lived.
The most reliable signs are increased drooling and mild fussiness. Saliva production ramps up just before a tooth breaks through, so you may go through more bibs than usual. Your baby might seem a little clingier or more irritable than normal, and sleep can be slightly disrupted. These symptoms typically peak in the days right before the tooth appears and improve within three to four days.
What teething does not cause is a true fever. It may raise your baby’s temperature slightly, but anything at or above 100.4°F (38°C) is a fever and points to something else, like a common infection. Diarrhea and rashes also get blamed on teething far more often than they should. Because babies start teething around the same age they begin putting everything in their mouths and losing some of their early immune protection, illnesses and teething frequently overlap by coincidence.
Safe Ways to Ease Teething Discomfort
The simplest approach is often the most effective. Gently rubbing or massaging your baby’s gums with a clean finger can provide real relief. You can also offer a firm rubber teething ring for your baby to chew on. Avoid liquid-filled teethers, and don’t freeze teething rings, as something too hard or too cold can actually hurt sensitive gums.
Numbing gels and teething tablets are best avoided entirely. The FDA has warned against topical numbing products containing benzocaine for children under two, because they carry a risk of a rare but serious condition that reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Homeopathic teething tablets have also faced safety concerns. Stick with the low-tech options: clean fingers, rubber teethers, and a damp washcloth chilled in the refrigerator.
Babies Born With Teeth
In rare cases, a baby is born with one or more teeth already visible. These are called natal teeth, and they occur in roughly 1 out of every 289 newborns. The cause isn’t fully understood, though genetics play a role. In some families, the clusters of cells that eventually become teeth sit unusually close to the gum surface, allowing them to break through earlier than expected. Natal teeth are usually the baby’s actual primary teeth rather than extra ones, and they’re typically managed on a case-by-case basis depending on how firmly they’re attached.
Caring for Gums and New Teeth
You don’t need to wait for teeth to start cleaning your baby’s mouth. Using a damp piece of gauze or a soft cloth wrapped around your finger, gently wipe your baby’s gums after feedings, or at least twice a day. This removes bacteria and gets your baby used to the routine of oral care early on.
Once that first tooth appears, switch to a soft-bristled infant toothbrush with a rice-grain-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends scheduling your baby’s first dental visit within six months of the first tooth coming in, or by their first birthday, whichever comes first. That first appointment is mostly about establishing a baseline and catching any early concerns before they become bigger issues.