I’m a little worried because my daughter’s two front teeth haven’t come in yet. She’s almost ten months old. The weird thing is the teeth that would be next to them have come in, so she looks like a baby vampire. Is this okay or is something wrong?
Nervous Mama
Dear Nervous Mama,
Take a deep breath. There’s no need to grab some garlic yet. While there is a general schedule, teeth don’t always follow that schedule. It is not unheard of for the lateral incisors to erupt before their central incisors do.
Here’s a loose schedule of when teeth come in:
Lower Central Incisors – 6 to 10 months
Upper Central incisors – 8 to 12 months
Lower Lateral Incisors – 10 to 16 months
Upper Lateral Incisors – 9 to 13 months
Lower Cuspid (Canine) – 17 to 23 months
Upper Cuspid (Canine) – 16 to 22 months
Lower First Molar – 14 to 18 months
Upper First Molar – 13 to 19 months
Lower Second Molar – 23 to 31 months
Upper Second Molar – 25 to 33 months
When Should I Child First See a Pediatric Dentist?
It’s recommended you first take your child to the pediatric dentist or a general dentist who treats children when their teeth first start erupting. This is usually a simple appointment where the child is just introduced to the dentist and staff and shown what the different tools are. Its intention is to allow the child to get familiar with the dentist in a non-threatening environment. In your sweet babe’s case, they will likely do an x-ray as well just to see if the central incisors are actually there.
Sometimes, a person will have congenitally missing teeth. This is okay too and there are many solutions. Either way, your child will not go toothless throughout their life. Even if they are missing both baby and adult teeth there are fantastic tooth replacement options these days.
This blog is brought to you by Auburn Dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.