When do children get their baby teeth? When do they lose their baby teeth and start getting their permanent teeth?

On average, the first tooth erupts when a child is between six and eight months old, though variation in the timing and sequence of tooth eruption is perfectly normal. A child’s first set of teeth—”primary teeth” or “milk teeth”—generally erupts from front to back, beginning with the lower front teeth (central incisors). The last of the primary teeth come in when the child is between two and three years old.

Most children begin to lose their primary teeth around age six, a process that continues until they reach 10-12 years of age. The first permanent teeth to show up are typically either the first molars—called the “six-year molars”—or the lower central incisors. Aside from wisdom teeth, the last teeth to come in are generally the second molars. Again, variability in the timing and sequence of this process is normal.

The last teeth to erupt are the third molars, or “wisdom teeth.” This usually happens somewhere between the ages of 17 and 21.