Tooth Charts for Adults and Children

When in the dental chair at your dentists office you may have noticed that the doctor, when making references to your teeth, does not call them by name but by number. To help you better understand which tooth is being referred to during your visit this chart may be handy to print out and take with you. You can have the Doctor circle the tooth or teeth that he is checking or working on, The chart is pictured is as if you're facing your dentist and he/she has their mouth wide open.

1. 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth)
2. 2nd Molar (12-year molar)
3. 1st Molar (6-year molar)
4. 2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar)
5. 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar)
6. Cuspid (canine/eye tooth)
7. Lateral incisor
8. Central incisor
9. Central incisor
10. Lateral incisor
11. Cuspid (canine/eye tooth)
12. 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar)
13. 2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar)
14. 1st Molar (6-year molar)
15. 2nd Molar (12-year molar)
16. 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth)
17. 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth)
18. 2nd Molar (12-year molar)
19. 1st Molar (6-year molar)
20. 2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar)
21. 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar)
22. Cuspid (canine/eye tooth)
23. Lateral incisor
24. Central incisor
25. Central incisor
26. Lateral incisor
27. Cuspid (canine/eye tooth)
28. 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar)
29. 2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar)
30. 1st Molar (6-year molar)
31. 2nd Molar (12-year molar)
32. 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth)

Tooth Eruption Charts

The following chart shows when primary teeth (also called baby teeth or deciduous teeth) erupt and shed. It's important to note that eruption times can vary from child to child.

Primary Teeth Development Chart
Upper Teeth	When tooth emerges	When tooth falls out
Central incisor	8 to 12 months	6 to 7 years
Lateral incisor	9 to 13 months	7 to 8 years
Canine (Cuspid)	16 to 22 months	10 to 12 years
First molar	13 to 19 months	9 to 11 years
Second molar	25 to 33 months	10 to 12 years

Lower Teeth
Second molar	23 to 31 months	10 to 12 years
First molar	14 to 18 months	9 to 11 years
Canine (Cuspid)	17 to 23 months	9 to 12 years
Lateral incisor	10 to 16 months	7 to 8 years
Central incisor	6 to 10 months	6 to 7 years

As seen from the chart, the first teeth begin to break through the gums at about 6 months of age. Usually, the first two teeth to erupt are the two bottom central incisors (the two bottom front teeth). Next, the top four front teeth emerge. After that, other teeth slowly begin to fill in, usually in pairs – one each side of the upper or lower jaw – until all 20 teeth (10 in the upper jaw and 10 in the lower jaw) have come in by the time the child is 2 ½ to 3 years old. The complete set of primary teeth is in the mouth from the age of 2 ½ to 3 years of age to 6 to 7 years of age.

Other primary tooth eruption facts:

	A general rule of thumb is that for every 6 months of life, approximately 4 teeth will erupt.
	Girls generally precede boys in tooth eruption
	Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth
	Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs – one on the right and one on the left
	Primary teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than the permanent teeth that will follow
	By the time a child is 2 to 3 years of age, all primary teeth should have erupted

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces between the primary teeth. This is a perfectly natural growth process that provides the necessary space for the larger permanent teeth to emerge. Between the ages of 6 and 12, a mixture of both primary teeth and permanent teeth reside in the mouth.

Why Is it Important to Care for Baby Teeth?

While it's true that primary teeth are only in the mouth a short period of time, they play a vital role in the following ways:

	They reserve space for their permanent counterparts.
	They give the face its normal appearance.
	They aid in the development of clear speech.
	They help attain good nutrition (missing or decayed teeth make it difficult to chew causing children to reject foods).
	They help give a healthy start to the permanent teeth (decay and infection in baby teeth can cause dark spots on the permanent teeth developing beneath it).

The following chart shows when permanent teeth emerge.

Tooth Guide

Permanent Teeth Development Chart
Upper Teeth	When tooth emerges
Central incisor	7 to 8 years
Lateral incisor	8 to 9 years
Canine (Cuspid)	11 to 12 years
First premolar (first bicuspid)	10 to 11 years
Second premolar (second bicuspid)	10 to 12 years
First molar	6 to 7 years
Second molar	12 to 13 years
Third molar (wisdom teeth)	17 to 21 years

Lower Teeth
Third molar (wisdom tooth)	17 to 21 years
Second molar	11 to 13 years
First molar 6 to 7 years	17 to 21 years
Second premolar (second bicuspid)	11 to 12 years
First premolar (first bicuspid)	10 to 12 years
Canine (Cuspid)	9 to 10 years
Lateral incisor	7 to 8 years
Central incisor	6 to 7 years

Teeth

As seen in this chart, permanent teeth begin to come in around the age of 6. In some children, the first permanent molars are the first to emerge; in others, the incisors are the first to emerge. By the age of 13, most of the 28 permanent teeth will be in place. One to four wisdom teeth, or third molars, emerge between the ages of 17 and 21, bringing the total number of permanent teeth up to 32.