Kids and the dentist (II)
Baby teeth should fall out during the primary school years (6 to 12 years old) and the permanent teeth come in. The first teeth to come in are usually the two bottom middle teeth (central incisors) between the ages of 5 and 6.
Sometimes permanent teeth come in behind baby teeth that haven’t fallen out yet: this happens in 80% of children. In these cases you should visit the dentist to assess whether or not to extract the baby teeth.
Sometimes the opposite happens: the baby teeth fall out and it takes several months for the permanent teeth to come in, especially the two top middle teeth.
- Four very important molars come in behind the baby molars around this age (6 years old): these are the first permanent molars, which you have to track to make sure they come in properly and to assess whether you should have them sealed: these six-year-old molars must last a lifetime!
- The two top middle teeth (upper central incisors) come in between the ages of 6 to 7 for girls and 7 to 8 for boys.
- Both sets of lateral teeth (upper and lower lateral incisors) emerge between the ages of 7 and 8.
- The two lower canine teeth come in around 9 years of age.
- At 10 the four molars behind the canine teeth fall out and the first premolars emerge.
- At 11 the second baby molars fall out and the second premolars come in.
- At 12 the upper canine teeth come in.
- At 12 the second permanent molars come in and all the permanent teeth will be in place, pending the wisdom teeth, which usually emerge at around 18 years of age.
Every child is different and grows at a different rate: some kids’ teeth begin to change at a very young age (as early as 4) while it takes much longer for some (boys in particular can start as late as 7 to 8 years old): that’s the beauty of human nature. Therefore, it is best to observe how each of our children evolves in this and other areas, and to track this evolution with the help of a good paediatric dentist.