Baby teeth usually begin to erupt by 6-9 months but we have seen children born with teeth and some at 15 months with none yet! So there is a lot of variability when they come through the gums.
Eruption:
Watch for your baby's first teeth to show up in the lower front of his mouth. When this starts to happen, your baby may have some discomfort. The discomfort makes him fussy. The gums may be swollen and tender. He may want to chew things.
The two upper front teeth will probably be the next teeth to come in. The rest of his teeth will come in slowly. In time, he will have a total of 20 baby teeth.
Pain:
Gently rubbing your baby's gums with a clean finger, cool spoon or wet cloth can be soothing. You can also give your baby a teething ring or pacifier to chew on.
Some teething rings are made to be chilled. This cool object against his gums may feel good and make him less fussy. You don't need to put any kind of pain reliever on his gums. These wash away quickly and don't help much.
Most parents ask to give their child pain relief medicines for teething. This is usually not needed and if needed there is often something else going on to explain the discomfort. Not every bump in the road needs a Band-Aid!
Shedding:
Also known as losing your teeth begins usually around age 6. The first to fall were also the first to show up, that would be the middle bottom incisors. They fall out regularly beginning around 6 years of age being replaced by permanent teeth. In fact, they shed because the tooth below pushes it out of the way for the adult tooth.
