When will my baby start teething?

We’ve all seen babies chewing on a rusk or heard stories from weary parents about their previously angelic baby crying during the night. So when should you expect your baby to start teething?

 Teething can vary from baby to baby. Some babies may sprout their first little toothy peg when they’re just four months old while others are still gummy sharks on their first birthday. Some babies are even born with teeth already through! This is all completely normal.

 In general though, the first teeth do arrive for most babies sometime between four and seven months. You might notice some extra drool, general fussiness and extra wakings during this time – or you might not, as teething symptoms can vary from child to child as well. Teeth generally appear in a certain order, one set at a time.

Baby teeth in order of appearance

·       The first teeth to make an appearance are usually (but not always) the bottom two at the front (central incisors), usually one at a time but a few days or weeks apart.

·       The next two are the top front central incisors.

·       These are followed by the top two lateral incisors on each side of the top front central incisors.

·       Next is back down the bottom for the bottom lateral incisors.

·       Then the first molars appears

·       Followed by the canines (the pointy ones!)

·       Last are the four second molars.

By age three your child should have all 20 baby teeth and by age six they will likely start to lose them to make way for their adult teeth.

Here’s a handy chart to see when teeth are likely to appear and in what order.

Baby tooth eruption chart