Pediatric
Tooth eruption
Tooth eruption is the process in which a tooth moves up and breaks through the gum into the mouth, first for baby teeth and later for adult teeth.
Eruption happens twice in life. First the baby teeth come in, then the adult teeth replace them. The ADA says people usually have 20 baby teeth at birth beneath the gums, and that these start to come in at about 6 months of age. By age 21, all 32 adult teeth have usually come in. Timing differs from child to child, and a few weeks or months either way is common. Eruption charts show the usual order. A tooth that is very late, or that comes in out of place, is worth mentioning to the dentist. A wisdom tooth may get stuck, which is called impacted. See teething and our page on dentistry for kids.