Which Teeth Do You Lose as a Kid?

Quick Answer

As a kid, you lose all 20 baby teeth — 10 on top and 10 on the bottom. The bottom front teeth go first, usually around age 6 or 7, followed by the top front teeth. Then the side front teeth, the first molars, the canines, and finally the second molars fall out, roughly in the same order they came in. Most children have lost all 20 baby teeth by age 12 or 13, and each one is replaced by a permanent adult tooth growing underneath it.

The teeth you do not lose are the ones that were never baby teeth at all: the first permanent molars that arrive around age 6 behind the baby molars, the second permanent molars around age 12, and the wisdom teeth in the late teens. Those come in addition to the 20 replacements, which is how a child with 20 teeth ends up as an adult with 32.

If your child loses a tooth a little early or a little late, that is usually normal. Timing varies by a year or more between children, and even between siblings. What matters more than the exact birthday is the pattern: teeth loosening gradually, in roughly the expected order, with a permanent tooth coming through behind each gap.

Why Kids Lose Their Teeth at All

Baby teeth are not failed or temporary mistakes. They do real work: they hold space in the jaw for the adult teeth, help a child chew and speak clearly, and guide the shape of the face as it grows. But they are smaller than adult teeth, with shorter roots, because a small child’s jaw cannot fit a full adult set.

Underneath every baby tooth, a permanent tooth has been developing since before birth. As that adult tooth grows larger, it presses upward against the root of the baby tooth above it. Over months, the pressure dissolves the baby tooth’s root — a process dentists call root resorption. Once most of the root is gone, the tooth has almost nothing holding it in place. It wobbles, then falls out, and the adult tooth pushes through the gum into the empty spot.

That is why a naturally lost baby tooth looks so strange: it has almost no root. Parents who expect a long root are often surprised by the small, smooth tooth their child proudly hands over. A rootless baby tooth is a sign the process worked exactly as it should.

How Many Baby Teeth Do Kids Have?

Children have 20 baby teeth, also called primary teeth or milk teeth: 10 upper teeth (4 incisors, 2 canines, 4 molars) and 10 lower teeth (4 incisors, 2 canines, 4 molars).

Notice what is missing compared with an adult mouth: baby teeth have no premolars (bicuspids) and no third molars (wisdom teeth). The adult teeth that replace the baby molars are actually premolars — they are smaller and have a different shape, which is one reason the back of a child’s mouth changes so much during these years.

Adults, by contrast, have 32 teeth: 8 incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars, and 12 molars. The jump from 20 to 32 happens because 20 baby teeth are replaced one-for-one, and then 12 extra permanent molars arrive behind them — the 6-year molars, the 12-year molars, and the wisdom teeth — without pushing any baby tooth out.

Which Teeth Do You Lose as a Kid? The Full Order

Baby teeth usually fall out in the same order they came in. The lower teeth in each pair tend to go before the upper ones, sometimes by a full year. Here is the typical order, with the usual age ranges. Remember that these are ranges, not deadlines.

Put simply: front teeth first (ages 6-8), then a mixed middle phase of canines and first molars (ages 9-12), and finally the second molars (ages 10-13). The whole process takes about six or seven years, which is why it feels like your child is always losing a tooth.

The Teeth You Do NOT Lose as a Kid

This is the part most articles skip, and it causes a lot of confusion. Not every tooth in a child’s mouth is a baby tooth, and not every new tooth means an old one fell out.

• First permanent molars (6-year molars): These arrive around age 6, behind the last baby molars, without replacing anything. Because they come in at the same age as the first lost tooth, parents sometimes mistake them for baby teeth — but they are permanent and need brushing and protection from day one.
• Second permanent molars (12-year molars): These arrive around age 12, behind the 6-year molars, again without pushing a baby tooth out.
• Wisdom teeth (third molars): These arrive much later, usually between ages 17 and 21, and sometimes never fully come in.

A useful rule: if a tooth appeared behind all the existing teeth, with no tooth falling out first, it is a permanent molar, not a baby tooth. Those teeth stay for life (unless decay or crowding forces a dentist to remove one), so they deserve the same care as any adult tooth — including sealants if your dentist recommends them.

What Losing a Tooth Actually Feels Like, Step by Step

For most children, losing a tooth is more strange than painful. Here is the normal sequence:

1. The tooth starts to feel different. It may feel slightly loose when pushed with the tongue, or food may feel odd around it. This stage can last weeks.
2. The wobble increases. The tooth moves more freely, sometimes tilting. Children often cannot resist wiggling it, and wiggling a naturally loose tooth is fine.
3. The tooth comes out. It may fall out while eating, during brushing, or with a gentle twist. A little bleeding is normal and usually stops within a few minutes.
4. The gum heals quickly. Children’s gums heal fast. The spot may feel tender for a day or two, then the gum closes over.
5. The adult tooth appears. Within weeks to a few months, a larger, slightly less white permanent tooth pushes through. New adult teeth often look bigger and a little more yellow than baby teeth — that is normal, because adult enamel is thicker and less translucent.

If a tooth is barely loose and your child is in pain, do not force it. A tooth that is not ready to come out is still anchored by root, and pulling it early can hurt and cause more bleeding. Let it loosen on its own.

What to Do When a Tooth Comes Out

Keep it simple. Most of the time, no special treatment is needed at all.

• Have your child rinse gently with water and spit, not swallow hard or rinse vigorously.
• If there is bleeding, fold a clean piece of gauze or a damp cloth and have your child bite down on it for 10 to 15 minutes. Bleeding that lasts longer than an hour is a reason to call the dentist.
• A cold drink or a small ice pop can soothe soreness, but avoid very hot food for the rest of the day.
• Keep brushing, gently, around the gap. A clean mouth heals faster than one left alone out of fear.
• Save the tooth if your child wants to — in a small box, an envelope, or under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy. There is no medical reason to keep it, but the ritual matters to children, and a lost-tooth milestone deserves a little ceremony.

What not to do: do not tie the tooth to a door, do not yank a tooth that is only slightly loose, and do not give aspirin to a child for tooth soreness. If pain relief is needed, use an age-appropriate dose of a children’s pain reliever and follow the label, or ask your dentist or pharmacist.

When a Tooth Is Lost Too Early

Teeth are sometimes lost early because of injury or decay. A fall on the playground, a sports knock, or a cavity that weakens a baby tooth can all bring a tooth out before its adult replacement is ready. This matters more than parents sometimes realise, because baby teeth hold space. If a baby tooth disappears months or years early, the neighbouring teeth can drift into the gap, leaving too little room for the adult tooth. That adult tooth can then come in crooked, crowded, or stuck.

That does not mean every early loss leads to braces. It means the dentist should know about it. At the next check-up — or sooner, if the loss was from an injury — the dentist can check whether the space needs protecting. Sometimes a simple device called a space maintainer, a small band-and-loop appliance, holds the gap open until the adult tooth is ready. Sometimes the dentist simply watches and waits. Either way, an early loss is a “tell the dentist” event, not a “wait and hope” event.

The same logic applies in reverse: a baby tooth that stays far too long can also cause trouble (see the next sections), so both extremes are worth a dental conversation.

Shark Teeth: When the Adult Tooth Comes In Behind the Baby Tooth

One of the most common worries parents bring to the dentist has a memorable name: shark teeth. This is when the permanent tooth erupts behind the baby tooth before the baby tooth has fallen out, creating a double row for a while. It looks alarming, but it is usually harmless.

Shark teeth happen most often with the lower front teeth, because the adult tooth sometimes comes up slightly behind rather than directly underneath the baby tooth, so it does not dissolve the baby root evenly. In most cases, the baby tooth loosens on its own within weeks as the tongue pushes against it, and the adult tooth drifts forward into place once the baby tooth is gone.

Call the dentist if the baby tooth shows no sign of loosening after a few weeks, if it is painful, or if the adult tooth is coming in very far out of line. The dentist may simply remove the stubborn baby tooth, a quick procedure, and the adult tooth usually straightens up on its own as the tongue and lips guide it. Braces are rarely needed for this alone.

What If a Baby Tooth Never Falls Out?

Sometimes a baby tooth stays put well past its expected age. This is called a retained baby tooth, and it has a few possible causes:

• No adult tooth underneath. In a small number of children, the permanent tooth never developed (a condition called hypodontia or agenesis). With nothing pushing from below, the baby tooth’s root is never dissolved, so it stays. A dental X-ray confirms this, and the dentist will plan around it — sometimes the baby tooth can serve for many years.
• The adult tooth is blocked or off course. Crowding, an extra tooth, or an unusual eruption path can leave the baby tooth in place while the adult tooth waits elsewhere.
• The baby tooth’s root fused to the bone. Rarely, a baby tooth becomes ankylosed, fused to the jawbone, and cannot loosen normally.

A retained baby tooth is not an emergency, but it is not something to ignore either. If your child is 13 or older and still has baby teeth, or if a baby tooth is still firmly in place a year or more past its usual age range, book a dental check-up and mention it. An X-ray answers the question in minutes, and early answers give the dentist more options.

When Losing Teeth Is Late — and When It Is Normal

Girls often start losing teeth slightly earlier than boys, and timing frequently runs in families: if you lost your first tooth at 7, your child may too. Children who got their baby teeth late as infants often lose them late as well, because the whole schedule is shifted, not broken.

Late loss is usually only a concern when it is combined with something else. Use this table as a guide, not a diagnosis — when in doubt, a dentist’s X-ray settles it.

The single most reassuring fact for parents: dentists expect variation. A child who loses teeth “out of order” but is otherwise healthy, eating well, and seeing a dentist regularly is almost always fine. The chart is a map, not a timetable with penalties for arriving late.

Red Flags: When to Call the Dentist Promptly

Most tooth loss needs no urgent care. Call the dentist promptly — the same day if possible — if you notice any of these:

• Bleeding that does not stop after an hour of pressure with gauze
• A tooth knocked out by injury (not a naturally loose tooth), especially if it is a permanent tooth — keep a knocked-out permanent tooth moist and get to a dentist immediately, as quick action can save it
• Swelling, pus, or a bad taste around a loose or missing tooth, which can signal infection
• Severe pain that does not ease with children’s pain relief
• A tooth that breaks, leaving a sharp or discoloured fragment behind
• An adult tooth coming through that looks very dark, very crooked, or is causing ongoing pain
• A gap that stays empty for more than six months with no sign of a new tooth

For a naturally loose baby tooth with mild soreness and a little bleeding, a routine check-up is enough. For anything on the list above, do not wait for the next scheduled visit.

Making Losing Teeth Fun (Without Making It Scary)

Losing teeth is one of childhood’s few universal milestones, and how adults react shapes how children feel about their teeth for years. A calm, positive reaction teaches a child that dental changes are normal, not frightening.

The Tooth Fairy tradition is the classic example: a small note, a coin, or a tiny gift under the pillow turns a strange experience into a proud one. Some families keep a tooth chart on the fridge, marking each lost tooth and its date — a simple record children love looking back on. Others let the child choose a special tooth box or a small container for the tooth.

A few cautions keep the fun healthy. Do not use the dentist as a threat (“if you don’t brush, the dentist will pull your teeth”), and do not make a child feel embarrassed about a gappy smile in photos. Children who feel good about their changing teeth are more likely to brush the new adult teeth well — and those adult teeth, unlike the baby ones, have to last a lifetime.

A Note on Brushing the New Adult Teeth

Every new adult tooth is an opportunity and a responsibility. Adult teeth are larger, with grooves on the molars that trap food, and they arrive at an age when children are starting to brush more independently — and sometimes less carefully. Help your child by:

• Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, with an adult supervising or checking until at least age 7 or 8
• Paying extra attention to the new 6-year molars at the back, which are easy to miss because they arrive without a gap to announce them
• Flossing once the teeth start touching each other, especially as the back teeth come in
• Keeping sugary drinks and frequent snacking in check, since new enamel is more vulnerable in its first years
• Visiting the dentist every six months, so small problems are caught while they are still small

The baby teeth may be temporary, but the habits built while losing them are not. A child who learns to care for each new adult tooth as it arrives grows into an adult who still has them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which teeth do you lose first as a kid?

A: The bottom front teeth — the lower central incisors — almost always go first, usually around age 6 or 7. The top front teeth follow at around age 7 or 8. After that, the side front teeth, first molars, canines, and second molars follow over the next several years.

Q: How many teeth do you lose as a kid?

A: You lose all 20 baby teeth: 10 upper and 10 lower. Each is replaced by a permanent tooth. Adults end up with 32 teeth because 12 additional permanent molars (the 6-year, 12-year, and wisdom molars) arrive without replacing any baby tooth.

Q: Do you lose your molars as a kid?

A: Yes — but only the baby molars. Children have 8 baby molars (4 upper, 4 lower), and all 8 fall out between roughly ages 9 and 13. The permanent molars that arrive behind them (the 6-year and 12-year molars) are never lost as baby teeth, because they were never baby teeth.

Q: What age do you stop losing baby teeth?

A: Most children have lost all 20 baby teeth by age 12 or 13, when the last second molars fall out. If baby teeth remain after age 13, a dental check-up and X-ray are worth booking to check what is underneath.

Q: Is it normal to lose teeth out of order?

A: Often, yes. The front teeth usually follow the expected order closely, but the canines and molars can swap order without any problem. What matters is that teeth are loosening gradually and adult teeth are coming through. A dentist can confirm with an X-ray if you are unsure.

Q: Should you pull a loose baby tooth?

A: Only if it is very loose and barely hanging on. If a tooth is only slightly loose, pulling it early can hurt and bleed more. Let naturally loose teeth fall out on their own, and let the dentist handle any tooth that is stuck, painful, or not loosening when it should.

Q: What happens if a baby tooth is lost too early?

A: The neighbouring teeth can drift into the gap and leave too little room for the adult tooth, which can then come in crooked. Tell the dentist about any early loss from injury or decay — a space maintainer can hold the gap open until the adult tooth is ready.

Q: Why does a lost baby tooth have almost no root?

A: Because the adult tooth growing underneath dissolved the baby tooth’s root over months before it fell out. A smooth, nearly rootless baby tooth is a sign the process worked normally, not a sign that something broke.

The Bottom Line

As a kid, you lose all 20 baby teeth — front teeth first around age 6, then the side teeth, canines, and molars, finishing with the back second molars by about age 13. Each lost tooth is replaced by a permanent tooth, and the extra permanent molars that arrive behind them bring the adult total to 32. The order and timing vary from child to child, and a year of difference is usually nothing to worry about. Keep brushing, keep the dentist in the loop about early losses, stubborn teeth, or long-empty gaps, and celebrate each lost tooth — it is a sign your child’s smile is growing up exactly as it should.

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional dental advice. If you are concerned about your child’s teeth, speak to your dentist.