Baby Teeth and Adult Teeth

During our lifetime, we have two full sets of teeth;

• 20 baby teeth (also known as milk teeth or the primary/deciduous dentition), and
• 32 adult teeth (also known as the permanent dentition)

When should the baby teeth come through?

Babies start "teething" at around 6 months old. Teething can be an uncomfortable process for a baby and can cause them to be restless, cry more than usual and put anything and everything in their mouths to chew on! To help make them more comfortable, you can give your baby some medicine or place "Calgel" on the gum to soothe the pain. By the age of 3 years old, most children will have developed a full set of 20 baby teeth - 10 in the top jaw and 10 in the lower jaw. These teeth are much smaller and whiter than adult teeth and are often spaced. The spaces between the baby teeth are completely normal and allow our bigger adult teeth to come through more easily.

When do the adult teeth start to come through?

At 6 years old, the first adult teeth should start to come through. These are the top and bottom front teeth, known as incisors and the first permanent molars (back teeth). In some children, these teeth may come through when they are slightly younger or slightly older. To make space for these adult teeth, the baby teeth become wobbly and should eventually fall out by themselves - sometimes it helps to give the extra stubborn teeth a wiggle to help them on their way! By the age of 12-13 years old, most children will have lost all of their baby teeth and have 28 adult teeth (14 in the top jaw and 14 in the lower jaw).

Some people have wisdom teeth (also known as "third molars") which sit at the very back of the mouth. These typically come through between 17 and 21 years old although some are late bloomers. Not everybody has wisdom teeth. If you're one of these people then don't worry, it isn't a reflection of how wise you are (sorry, dad joke).