August 22nd is National Tooth Fairy Day!

When Will My Child Lose Their First Tooth? A frequent question asked in the pediatric dental office.

By age 3, most children have all 20 baby teeth and you can expect to lose all 20 of those baby teeth over time.  Inquiring about when to expect that first tooth fairy visit? Although we do not have a crystal ball, here’s a helpful insight to the future of losing baby teeth. 

Just as patterns differ on when your baby cuts their first tooth, it is unknown when to predict the first baby tooth to fall out.  A general rule of thumb is that children who are early teethers tend to lose their baby teeth early. The average age of the eruption of the first teeth is at 6 months and thus losing that tooth at the average age of 6.  If your child was earlier, you may begin losing teeth around age 4.  However, if your child was a late bloomer with the first eruption, it could be closer to age 8 before they lose their first pearly white.

It is common to lose teeth in the same pattern that they came in: the two bottom teeth in the middle and then the two at the top in the middle. But be patient with the loose ones! It can take months from the first signs of a loose tooth until it finally exfoliates, depending on how aggressive your child is in wiggling throughout the day.  You can encouraged them to wiggle loose teeth at home, just be sure they are wiggling with clean fingers!

Also note that just as it could take months between the initial wiggle and when the tooth comes out, it can also take months before you see any signs of the eruption of the permanent tooth. Keep Calm and Wiggle On!