Baby Teething Timeline: Which Teeth When
Enter your baby's age in months to see the teeth most likely coming now, the symptoms to expect, and gentle ways to keep them comfortable.
Enter an age to see the timeline.
Add your baby’s age in months, and the teeth most likely arriving now, plus comfort tips, appear here.
Teething timing varies enormously between healthy children, so treat this as a typical pattern and order rather than a deadline. Some babies sail through with no fuss and others are uncomfortable for days. If your child seems unwell beyond mild teething, such as a real fever, diarrhoea or a rash, that is worth a call to your health visitor or doctor rather than assuming it is teeth.
The formula
Age in months → typical eruption stage (order: lower central incisors first, then upper incisors, molars and canines, ending with second molars near age 3)
- Eruption stage — The stretch of teething your baby's age most often falls into.
- Order — The usual sequence teeth appear, front-to-back with a couple of common exceptions.
- Symptoms — The drooling, chewing and fussiness that typically accompany a tooth moving.
- Comfort care — Safe soothing measures like cool rings and gentle gum pressure.
Typical teething order and approximate ages
| Teeth | Typical age | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lower central incisors | 6 to 10 months | Usually the very first teeth |
| Upper central incisors | 8 to 12 months | The top front pair |
| Upper lateral incisors | 9 to 13 months | Either side of the top front |
| Lower lateral incisors | 10 to 16 months | Completing the front teeth |
| First molars | 13 to 19 months | Back chewing teeth, often before canines |
| Canines | 16 to 23 months | The eye teeth at the corners |
| Second molars | 23 to 33 months | The last baby teeth, finishing the set |
Ages are typical averages and vary widely between healthy children. The order shown is more consistent than any single timing. See a dentist or health visitor for a big deviation, not a small one.
Teething is one of those milestones that arrives on its own schedule, and the questions it raises are almost always the same: is this tooth due, is the fussiness normal, and what can actually help. A clear timeline takes the guesswork out of the first two so you can focus on the third.
This tool maps your baby's age in months to the teeth most likely on their way, following the well-known order in which baby teeth appear, from the first bottom incisors around half a year old to the second molars that usually complete a set of twenty near the third birthday.
It also pairs each stage with the symptoms to expect and simple, safe comfort measures, because a parent who knows a mildly warm, drooly, clingy phase is typical can respond calmly. The one thing it will not do is promise an exact date, since real teething is far more individual than any chart.
The usual order baby teeth appear
Although timing varies, the sequence is remarkably consistent across children. The first to arrive are usually the two lower front teeth, the lower central incisors, often somewhere around six to ten months and frequently as a pair or a few weeks apart.
Next tend to come the upper front teeth, first the two central incisors and then the lateral incisors beside them, followed by the remaining lower incisors, so that by around a year to sixteen months many babies have a tidy row of front teeth top and bottom.
After the front teeth, the pattern can surprise parents who expect a strict front-to-back march: the first molars often appear before the canines, and the second molars at the very back are typically last, arriving between about two and three years to complete the set.
Symptoms that are normal and the few that are not
The classic teething picture is drooling, a strong urge to chew or bite on anything within reach, fussiness and comfort-seeking, sore or swollen gums, and a bit of disrupted sleep. These tend to cluster around the days just before a tooth breaks through and settle once it is through.
A mild rise in temperature can accompany teething, but a genuine fever, diarrhoea, a rash, or a child who seems properly unwell is not considered normal teething. Attributing those to teeth can delay spotting an infection that actually needs attention.
So the useful rule is that teething explains uncomfortable and whiny, but not systemically unwell. When the signs go beyond the mouth and a settle-down, treat it as something to check with your health visitor or doctor rather than writing off as just another tooth.
Safe ways to soothe a sore mouth
The most reliable relief is firm, cool pressure on the gums. A clean, chilled (not frozen solid) teething ring, a cold wet washcloth to gnaw, or gentle rubbing with a freshly washed finger can all take the edge off discomfort by counter-pressure on the area the tooth is pushing through.
For older babies already on solids, cool soft foods can double as comfort and practice, and wiping drool onto the chin and neck helps prevent the skin irritation that a lot of dribble otherwise causes. Keep anything they chew clean, since teething babies mouth everything.
It is worth knowing what to avoid. The FDA and other bodies warn against benzocaine or lidocaine numbing gels for babies and teething tablets, especially homeopathic ones, because of rare but serious side effects, and frozen-hard objects can damage gums. Always check with a pharmacist or doctor before any medicine.
Caring for teeth as they arrive
Oral care begins with the very first tooth, not once the whole set is in. As soon as a tooth appears you can start cleaning it gently, wiping with a soft cloth at first and moving to a soft baby toothbrush as more teeth come through.
Most dental and paediatric guidance now supports starting a fluoride toothpaste from the emergence of the first tooth, just in a tiny smear about the size of a grain of rice for babies, and brushing twice a day, with a particular focus on the last feed or milk before bed.
A first dental visit is generally recommended within about six months of the first tooth appearing or by the first birthday, whichever comes sooner. Early, routine check-ups are as much about settling habits and reassurance as about spotting anything wrong.
Reading the timeline without the anxiety
Charts show averages, and healthy children spread widely around them. Some babies are born with a lower tooth already in place; others have nothing until well past a year, and both can be entirely normal. The sequence matters more than the precise month any single tooth lands.
What is worth attention is a big deviation from the pattern rather than a small one: a child with no teeth at all by around eighteen months, teeth arriving in a very unusual order, or a tooth that seems delayed alongside other developmental concerns is worth raising at a check-up as a simple matter to look at.
Use this tool to set expectations and to soothe confidently, then let your health visitor or dentist weigh in on the rare cases where timing genuinely warrants it. For the overwhelming majority of babies the timeline simply confirms that fussy, drooly, bitey phases are the normal price of a brand-new smile.
Key terms
- Incisors
- The front teeth, used for biting, which are usually the first to appear.
- Canines
- The pointed eye teeth at the corners between incisors and molars.
- Molars
- The broad back teeth used for chewing, often the last baby teeth to arrive.
- Primary teeth
- The full set of about twenty baby teeth that later give way to adult teeth.
Pro tips
- Offer something cool and firm to gnaw before reaching for medicine.
- Wipe drool from the chin and neck to spare the skin.
- Start cleaning the very first tooth, focusing on before bed.
- Book a first dental check-up by the first birthday.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a tooth on the exact month a chart shows.
- Using numbing gels or teething tablets not advised for babies.
- Blaming a real fever or illness on teething.
- Waiting for the whole set before starting any brushing.
Baby teething — your questions
When do babies usually get their first tooth?
Most babies get their first tooth somewhere around six months, though anything from about four months to around twelve months can be perfectly normal, and a few babies are even born with one. The first to appear is typically one of the two bottom front teeth. Because the range is wide, the order teeth arrive in tells you far more about a healthy pattern than the exact month any single tooth breaks through.
What are the normal symptoms of teething?
The usual signs are drooling, a strong urge to chew or bite, fussiness and comfort-seeking, sore swollen gums, and a little disrupted sleep, mostly in the days just before a tooth appears. A mild temperature rise can happen too. What is not normal teething is a genuine fever, diarrhoea, a rash, or a baby who seems properly unwell, so those deserve a call to your health visitor or doctor rather than being attributed to teeth.
How can I ease my teething baby's discomfort?
Firm cool pressure works best: offer a chilled, not frozen-solid, teething ring or a cold clean cloth to gnaw, or gently rub the gums with a washed finger. Cool soft foods help older babies, and wiping drool protects the skin. Avoid benzocaine or lidocaine numbing gels and teething tablets for babies, which regulators warn against, and check with a pharmacist or doctor before giving any pain medicine.
Do all twenty baby teeth really come through?
Most children do end up with a full set of about twenty primary teeth, usually complete somewhere between two and three years once the second molars arrive at the back. The journey there follows a rough order from the front incisors to the molars and canines, though the timing between individual children varies a lot. Those baby teeth then hold their spaces until around age six, when the adult teeth gradually begin to replace them.
When should I worry about delayed teething?
A single late tooth is rarely anything but normal variation and needs no action. What is worth mentioning at a check-up is a much bigger deviation, such as a baby with no teeth at all by around eighteen months, teeth appearing in a very unusual order, or a clear delay alongside other developmental questions. Your health visitor or dentist can reassure you or decide whether a simple look into growth or nutrition is worthwhile.