Age at which the first tooth appears

For many babies, the first tooth may appear around six months of age and is usually the lower central incisor. By the time a baby reaches 24 to 30 months of age, he or she should have all 20 teeth. A general formula that can be used to calculate the number of teeth your baby should have is:

No of Teeth = Age of the Baby (in months) - (4 or 6).

This means that your baby should have, on the average, 3 teeth by the time he or she reaches 8 months old.

Once the first tooth appears, your baby's teeth will usually come at a rate of 1 per month and follow the order below:

Order of teeth appearance:

1. Two lower central incisors will appear first, followed by the two upper incisors when the baby is about 8 months old.

2. The four side incisors will appear by the time the baby is about 1 year old.

3. Four back molars or chewing teeth will appear when the baby is about 14 months old.

4. Four canines, which are pointed teeth, will appear when the baby reaches 20 months of age.

5. When the baby is between 24 months to 30 months old, four more back molars will appear.

Take note that the above information is only the average time of teeth appearance in babies. It is normal to see babies with teeth at the age of 2 months or no tooth at the age of 10 months.

However, parents are advised to bring their children to the dentist if they still do not have teeth after they turn 1 year old.

Pregnant women are encouraged to have a calcium-rich diet during their pregnancy as they may be more likely give birth to babies whose first tooth will appear earlier.