Important Facts About Baby Teeth

The tooth buds actually start forming as early as six weeks in utero. When an expectant mother eats a well-rounded diet and takes prenatal vitamins during pregnancy to help her baby’s body grow healthy and strong, she is doing the same for her baby’s future smile. 

After a baby is born his tooth buds are busy developing into teeth, which gradually emerge through the jaw and eventually to the gum’s surface.

Having teeth changes your little one’s interaction with the environment.  Suddenly, you’ve possibly got a biter on your hands- and soon after that, a chewer.

So when will the first tooth make its debut? The event could happen about 6 months, however, it varies from child to child. It’s not something to be concerned about if your child is several months older and hasn’t gotten their first tooth. How many people do you know who never got any teeth?

As that initial baby tooth gets close to coming in, the gum above it might become swollen and start to tighten and get whitish. Perhaps a day or even weeks later, the first tooth will appear. Its roots will keep growing for another entire year, and 19 more teeth will complete the same process at their own pace until your child has a mouthful of them.

You’ll probably first see a front bottom tooth (central incisor). The symmetry of primary teeth is what’s most important – they should come in in pairs, one after the other. Just keep a lookout for its mate on the opposite side of the mouth. It should show up within a few months.

The four front top and bottom teeth are generally followed by the first molars at about 12 months, leaving gaps in the middle of the gum lines. These will eventually be filled by the pointy canine teeth.  Finally, you’ll see the second molars (called the 2-year molars) in the back. Usually all the baby teeth are in by 3 years of age.

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