When do babies typically start teething. Baby Teething Guide: Timeline, Symptoms, and Relief Methods
When do babies typically start teething. What are the common signs and symptoms of teething. How can parents provide relief for teething discomfort. What is the typical order of tooth eruption in babies. Are there any potential complications associated with teething.
The Teething Timeline: Understanding Your Baby’s Dental Development
Teething is a significant milestone in a baby’s development, marking the emergence of their first teeth. While the process can vary from child to child, most babies begin teething around 6 months of age. However, it’s important to note that some infants may start as early as 3 months or as late as 12 months.
The order in which teeth appear typically follows a predictable pattern:
- Lower central incisors (bottom front teeth): 6-10 months
- Upper central incisors (top front teeth): 8-12 months
- Upper lateral incisors (either side of top front teeth): 9-13 months
- Lower lateral incisors (either side of bottom front teeth): 10-16 months
- First molars (back teeth): 13-19 months
- Canines (pointed teeth): 16-22 months
- Second molars: 23-33 months
By the age of 3, most children will have a full set of 20 primary teeth. It’s worth noting that girls often begin teething slightly earlier than boys, but this is not a hard and fast rule.
Factors Influencing Teething Timelines
Several factors can influence when a baby starts teething and how quickly their teeth emerge:
- Genetics: Family history can play a role in determining when teething begins
- Nutrition: A balanced diet rich in essential nutrients supports healthy tooth development
- Birth weight and gestational age: Premature babies may experience delayed teething
- Overall health: Certain medical conditions can affect tooth eruption
Recognizing Teething Signs and Symptoms
As teeth begin to push through the gums, babies may experience various symptoms. It’s important for parents to recognize these signs to provide appropriate comfort and care.
Common Teething Symptoms
- Increased drooling
- Swollen or tender gums
- Irritability or fussiness
- Difficulty sleeping
- Loss of appetite
- Rubbing cheeks or pulling ears
- Gnawing on objects
Do all babies experience fever during teething? While some parents report mild temperature increases, high fevers are not typically associated with teething. If your baby has a fever over 101°F (38.3°C), it’s best to consult a pediatrician as it may indicate an unrelated illness.
Teething Rash: Fact or Fiction?
Some babies develop a mild rash around their mouth or on their chin during teething, often due to excess drooling. This “teething rash” is usually harmless and can be managed by gently patting the area dry and applying a barrier cream.
Effective Home Remedies for Teething Discomfort
While teething can be uncomfortable for babies, there are several safe and effective methods to alleviate their discomfort:
- Teething rings: Offer a clean, chilled (not frozen) teething ring for your baby to gnaw on
- Gentle gum massage: Use a clean finger to gently rub your baby’s gums
- Cold washcloth: A damp, chilled washcloth can provide soothing relief
- Cold foods: For babies who have started solids, offer cold (not frozen) foods like yogurt or applesauce
- Distraction: Engage your baby in fun activities to take their mind off the discomfort
- Over-the-counter pain relievers: Consult your pediatrician about appropriate pain relief options
Are natural teething remedies safe for babies? While some parents turn to natural remedies like amber necklaces or homeopathic teething gels, it’s crucial to exercise caution. Always consult with a healthcare professional before using any alternative treatments, as some may pose safety risks.
Dental Care for Teething Babies: Establishing Good Habits Early
Proper dental care should begin even before the first tooth appears. Here are some tips for maintaining your baby’s oral health during teething:
- Clean gums daily with a soft, damp cloth
- Once teeth emerge, use a small, soft-bristled toothbrush
- Use a rice-grain sized amount of fluoride toothpaste for children under 3
- Avoid putting your baby to bed with a bottle to prevent tooth decay
- Schedule the first dental visit by the first birthday or within 6 months of the first tooth appearing
How often should you brush a teething baby’s teeth? It’s recommended to brush your baby’s teeth twice a day – once in the morning and once before bed. This helps establish a routine and protects emerging teeth from decay.
Potential Complications and When to Seek Professional Help
While teething is a normal process, there are instances where professional intervention may be necessary:
- Delayed teething: If no teeth have appeared by 18 months
- Tooth eruption issues: Teeth emerging in an unusual order or position
- Excessive pain or discomfort: If your baby seems to be in severe pain
- Signs of infection: Swollen gums, fever, or refusal to eat or drink
- Dental injuries: Any trauma to the mouth or emerging teeth
When should you consult a pediatric dentist about teething concerns? It’s advisable to seek professional advice if you notice any of the above issues or if you have persistent concerns about your baby’s teething process.
Nutrition and Teething: Supporting Healthy Tooth Development
A balanced diet plays a crucial role in supporting healthy tooth development. Key nutrients for dental health include:
- Calcium: Found in dairy products, leafy greens, and fortified foods
- Vitamin D: Helps the body absorb calcium, obtained from sunlight exposure and fortified foods
- Phosphorus: Present in meat, fish, and eggs
- Vitamin C: Supports gum health, found in fruits and vegetables
How does breastfeeding affect teething? Breastfeeding can have positive effects on dental development, including proper jaw alignment and reduced risk of tooth decay. However, it’s important to maintain good oral hygiene regardless of feeding method.
Teething and Sleep: Strategies for Restful Nights
Teething can disrupt sleep patterns for both babies and parents. Here are some strategies to promote better sleep during teething:
- Maintain a consistent bedtime routine
- Offer extra comfort and cuddles before bed
- Use white noise or gentle music to soothe your baby
- Ensure the sleeping environment is comfortable and at an appropriate temperature
- Consider offering a teething toy suitable for nighttime use
Is it safe to use teething gels at night? While some parents use teething gels for nighttime relief, it’s important to follow product instructions carefully and consult with a healthcare provider. Some gels may numb the throat, potentially interfering with swallowing.
Beyond Teething: Preparing for Your Child’s Dental Future
As your child moves past the teething stage, it’s important to continue fostering good oral health habits:
- Encourage independent brushing while supervising technique
- Introduce flossing when teeth begin to touch
- Limit sugary snacks and drinks
- Continue regular dental check-ups
- Consider dental sealants for cavity-prone molars
When do children typically lose their first baby tooth? Most children begin losing their primary teeth around age 6, with the process continuing until about age 12. This marks the beginning of another exciting phase in your child’s dental development.
Understanding the teething process and how to support your baby through it can help make this developmental milestone a more positive experience for both parent and child. By recognizing the signs of teething, providing appropriate relief, and establishing good oral health habits early on, you’re setting the foundation for your child’s lifelong dental health.
When Do Babies Start Teething? | Teeth Development Chart
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When should you expect your little one’s teeth to start coming in and where? Teething usually starts around 6 months of age, but it can begin at any time between the ages of 3 and 12 months.
While each baby’s timetable differs, there is a typical teething order for each specific type of baby tooth. Use this handy baby teething chart to learn when it all starts.
Baby Teeth Types
Your children will develop 20 primary teeth by the time they are 3 years old. There are 5 different types:
- Central Incisors
- Lateral Incisors
- Canines
- First Molars
- Second Molars
Baby Teeth Chart
The exact timing of when teeth come in (“erupt”) and fall out (“shed”) may vary, but there are typical age ranges for each tooth. The emergence of teeth is generally symmetrical with the left and right teeth appearing at similar times. Most children will have all their primary teeth by 30 months of age. Find out more about your baby’s teething timeline.
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When Do Babies Start Teething? Signs, Symptoms & Tips To Get Through I – Tasty Tie
Dan Greco
No one wants to see their baby regularly uncomfortable, but teething is a significant and necessary milestone in a child’s development. Understanding when this process starts and what signs to look for can help parents prepare for their child’s needs and provide appropriate care.
Signs of Teething
Teething can be an uncomfortable process for babies, and it’s not uncommon for them to exhibit several signs of teething. Some of the most common signs include:
Behavioral changes
A baby’s behavior can change when they start teething. They may become fussier, clingier, or have trouble sleeping. They may also be more prone to drooling, which can cause skin irritation around the mouth.
Physical changes
You may notice that your baby’s gums appear red and swollen, and they may even develop a small white spot on their gum where the tooth is about to erupt. Additionally, some babies may develop a low-grade fever or diarrhea.
Pain and discomfort
Teething can be a painful and uncomfortable experience for babies, and they may show signs of pain or discomfort. This can include crying or fussing more than usual, rubbing their face or ears, and refusing to eat or drink.
You might also notice runny nose so don’t get it confused with a cold or sickness unless there’s other symptoms.
When Does Teething Start?
Teething typically begins between 4 and 7 months of age, with the lower central incisors being the first to emerge. However, every baby is different, and some babies may start teething earlier or later than this range. It’s also worth noting that some babies may be born with teeth already erupted, while others may not start teething until they are a year old.
- 6-10 months: Bottom front teeth (central incisors)
- 8-12 months: Top front teeth (central incisors)
- 9-13 months: Top lateral incisors (the teeth next to the central incisors)
- 10-16 months: Bottom lateral incisors
- 13-19 months: First molars
- 16-23 months: Canine teeth
- 23-33 months: Second molars (possibly the most painful stage)
Teething can last between 2 and 3 years but it wont be all at once. You’ll get well-deserved breaks.
Teething Tips for Parents
As a parent, it’s important to know how to provide your baby with comfort during the teething process. Here are some tips to help ease your baby’s discomfort:
Teething remedies
Teethers are always a worthwhile purchase. You’ll probably want a variety of types in order to accommodate the various stages and levels of pain. For example, use a teether that’s freezer safe for extra relief. Using a damp washcloth to massage their gums, or using a teething gel that contains a numbing agent to help ease the pain.
Coping with teething pain
If your baby is experiencing a lot of pain or discomfort, you may want to give them acetaminophen or ibuprofen, which can help reduce inflammation and relieve pain. However, you should always consult with your pediatrician before giving your baby any medication.
Safe teething toys
When choosing a teething toy for your baby, it’s important to choose one that is safe and free of any small parts that could pose a choking hazard. Soft, rubbery toys that your baby can chew on are usually a safe bet.
Pro-Tip: purchase a clip on teething toy like Tasty Tie, to spare you and your baby the frustration if they lose their grip. Most other teethers will end up on the floor, which can be a nuisance for everyone.
Dan Greco
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Teeth in children: the order of eruption
“Our teeth are being cut,” mother sighs, complaining about the baby’s whims and sleepless nights. Oh, these baby teeth, how many moms and dads they shook their nerves! But without them, after all, you have to stoically endure frequent whimpering. It’s good that teeth in children erupt on average on the same schedule, and there are specific signs that the malaise is associated with this process, because knowing the reason for crying is so important for every parent.
Terms of eruption of milk teeth (in the table)
Interestingly, the rudiments of teeth are formed in a child while he is in his mother’s stomach. But the eruption of the first teeth occurs, as a rule, only in the region of the 25th week of age.
One tooth can be cut from two to six days. The lower incisors appear first, they can begin to disturb the baby, who has not even reached the age of six months. The upper incisors show at about eight months. However, the lateral incisors are cut in the reverse order: first on the upper jaw, then from below. The last to erupt are fangs and second painters.
To make you feel calm and comfortable, we have made a tablet-calendar of the eruption of all milk teeth in a child. But you need to remember that the graph in the table shows the “average temperature in the hospital”, your baby’s individual schedule may differ from it by +/- a couple of months.
Chart of eruption of milk teeth (table)
Tooth | Lower jaw | upper jaw |
medial incisor | 6 – 10 months | 7 – 12 months |
Lateral incisor | 7 – 16 months | 9 – 13 months |
Fang | 16 – 23 months | 16 – 22 months |
First premolar (milk molar) | 12 – 18 months | 13 – 19 months |
Second premolar (deciduous molar) | 20 – 31 months | 25 – 33 months |
Usually the teeth are cut in pairs. One incisor appeared – soon wait for the second. Why the graph looks like this, mother nature is well aware. She thought of everything, and the child’s teeth are cut in order of need for a full life.
Teething in a baby ends at about 2-3 years. But these are only milk teeth, but there are still permanent ones. They will appear much later and are unlikely to bring parents as much inconvenience. However, it is important to know their schedule as well.
Graph of eruption of permanent teeth in children (diagram in the table)
Permanent teeth begin to appear not after the first milk teeth fall out, but a few months before the first arrival of the Tooth Fairy. The first to be born are the “sixes” (molars). They appear in a child around 6 years old. They are followed by incisors: 8-9years. Permanent canines and premolars “come” later: at 10-12 years old. The second molars erupt last.
In general, a child acquires the main 28 teeth only by adulthood, and wisdom teeth even after 20 years.
Terms of eruption of permanent teeth (table)
Tooth | Lower jaw | upper jaw |
medial incisor | 6 – 7 years old | 7 – 8 years |
Lateral incisor | 7 – 8 years | 8 – 9 years old |
Fang | 9 – 10 years | 11 – 12 years old |
First premolar | 10 – 12 years old | 10 – 11 years old |
Second premolar | 11 – 12 years old | 11 – 12 years old |
first molar | 6 – 7 years old | 6 – 7 years old |
second molar | 11 – 13 years old | 12 – 13 years old |
third molar | 17 – 21 years old | 17 – 21 years old |
For the formation of the correct bite, it is important that the eruption sequence is just that. Therefore, just as parents closely monitor the appearance of the first milk teeth of a baby, they should also monitor the timely appearance of permanent teeth.
Signs of teething
Every parent wants to ease the suffering of their child. Teething can really bring a lot of discomfort.
Infants are especially affected by teething. An already grown child may not notice the appearance of permanent teeth, but milk teeth make themselves felt in full.
First teething symptoms:
- A slight increase in body temperature (temperature not higher than 38 degrees, which lasts up to three days, this is a variant of the norm).
- Inflammation of the gums. The gum swells, itches. The child has a desire to scratch the swollen gums with some object, he pulls everything into his mouth (use teethers and special soothing and cooling gels).
- Increased salivation. You will definitely notice this, saliva will constantly flow.
- Deterioration of appetite. With such sensations, you don’t really want to eat. The child may refuse to eat, act up when you feed him.
- Irritability, tearfulness. The baby makes a lot of noise during the day, and sometimes at night. May have trouble sleeping.
- An increase in the level of leukocytes. You will learn about this if you donate blood. During teething, a slight increase in white blood cells is normal.
Attention! If the temperature is high, the child completely refuses to eat, he is tormented by stool disorder and other unpleasant symptoms, you should not attribute everything to teething, show the baby to the pediatrician.
Permanent teeth can also erupt with some discomfort. For example, with pain in the gums. But, probably, you will know that the time has come simply by the fallen milk teeth.
When to See a Dentist
If a tooth erupted a little early or late, there is no reason for concern. But in some cases, it is still necessary to see a dentist.
It is better to see a doctor if:
- The teeth do not erupt for too long (this may be due to a genetic factor or lack of buds).
- Teeth erupted too early (possible endocrine problems).
- The enamel is dark in color (high iron content or inflammation).
- Atypical position of the rows (inherited malocclusion or curvature of the maxillofacial bone).
All of these cases are quite rare, so try not to wind yourself up just like that. It is better to try to calm the baby in this difficult period for him.
At what age should children start brushing their teeth
Dentists recommend brushing children’s teeth as early as infancy. For infant teeth, there are special massage silicone brushes. But you can also use the “grandmother’s” way – wrap gauze around your finger and moisten it with water. Of course, the procedure must be carried out in such a way as not to drive the child into stress.
With the right approach, when the baby grows up, he will definitely love to brush his teeth. After all, with modern children’s beautiful toothbrushes and delicious pastes, this is such a pleasant process.
The high-quality soft bristles of the Family kids soft toothbrush gently cleans the surface of milk teeth. The rounded ends of the bristles protect children’s gums from damage. And the ZERO WHITE kids toothpaste with the taste of caramel mousse will appeal to even the most fastidious nibblers.
Read more about proper dental care for children and adults in our article “Tips for Dental Care”.
When do children start teething?
Teething is exciting for everyone: both for children who may experience discomfort during this natural process, and for parents who worry about everything being normal and, most importantly, on time.
When do children usually start teething?
Unbelievable but true: some babies are already born with one or two teeth! This happens in about one in 6,000 cases.
Most babies get their first tooth between 4 and 7 months, most often at 6 months. In fact, the age range is much wider, so do not panic if at 7 and 9 months your baby is still a cute toothless – a lot depends on heredity.
Most likely, a child will meet his third birthday with a full set of milk teeth, but again, everything is conditional! If you are worried, you can always seek the advice of a pediatrician.
6 months? But my three-month-old baby seems to be teething already!
Some babies erupt early and this is usually nothing to worry about! If already at 2-3 months there are all signs of the appearance of milk teeth, this indicates that your baby is just ahead of the norm!
And it also happens that babies start drooling, sucking their fingers, rubbing their gums at 3-4 months, but there are no more teeth! This means that the baby is just exploring the world, and the teeth will come later.
The bottom two teeth usually appear first, so this area should be checked with particular care. As soon as the teeth appear, teach your baby to brush them along with the gums – with a soft-bristled toothbrush or a damp sponge.
What to do if the teeth do not appear?
All children are different. Don’t worry if your child’s peers can already boast a radiant smile. If you compare the baby, then only with relatives – because this will help to understand the genetic predisposition to early or late teething.
If your baby is born prematurely or with a low birth weight, this can also cause delayed teething.
Average teething schedule for children:
- 4 teeth at 11 months;
- 8 teeth by 15 months;
- 12 teeth by 19 months;
- 16 teeth at 23 months.
Unpleasant (but always completely normal) teething sensations may come and go during this period of time.
The appearance of teeth may be asymptomatic. So don’t be surprised if one morning your baby smiles at you and you suddenly notice a pearly white color!
If a child remains toothless at 18 months, this is a reason to contact a pediatric dentist for an examination. Sometimes the absence of teeth may indicate the presence of health problems, namely:
- malnutrition;
- beriberi;
- thyroid imbalance.
It has been a long time since the child’s last tooth erupted, and no new ones appear…
The teeth can then come out two at a time, one on each side of the mouth. But this pattern depends on many factors (for example, if your baby was born prematurely or with low birth weight).
Teething symptoms
General symptoms of teething may include:
- salivation;
- chewing various objects;
- irritability and moodiness;
- sore gums;
- slightly elevated temperature to about 37.2°C.
Higher rectal temperature above 38°C, vomiting or diarrhea are not usually signs of teething. If your child has these symptoms, contact your pediatrician.
How can I help my baby with teething?
Here are some proven and most importantly safe home remedies to help your baby reduce teething pain:
- Gently massage your baby’s gums with a clean finger or damp gauze pad.
- Hold a cold sponge, spoon or chilled teething ring on your baby’s gums.
- Use plastic or rubber toys that are refrigerated.
- Offer cold foods – a chilled small piece of cucumber if the child is already eating solid food, but always be on the lookout to avoid suffocation.
- Use over-the-counter pediatric acetaminophen or ibuprofen if your pediatrician agrees.
No matter how attractive the item or the testimonials, don’t give your little one the necklaces and bracelets that grown-ups wear – made of amber, wood or silicone. They present a choking hazard to infants.
In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration does not recommend the use of homeopathic teething tablets and topical medicated gels.
Summing up
In most children, all milk teeth come out by the age of 3, regardless of when the first tooth appeared.
If by the age of one and a half the baby does not have a single tooth, this is a reason to seek advice from a pediatric dentist!
If things continue to go well, you should bring your child in for a 1-year routine checkup, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.