How many baby teeth and adult teeth are there and when do they come in?
A . Children have one set of 20 baby (primary) teeth used in early development. (See illustration below.) These are generally replaced by a second set of 32 larger permanent teeth. By the age of 6-10 months most infants cut their first tooth. By 10 months to 3 years, infants, toddlers and preschoolers continue to get their lower, then upper primary teeth starting in the center of the mouth and working backwards. By 3 years of age, most of a child’s 20 primary teeth are in. By the age of 5-6 years children begin to shed their primary teeth and permanent teeth begin to erupt. By 12-13 years, most baby teeth have been shed and almost all permanent teeth are in.
