It s also possible that the feeding action of the baby s mouth on the soft breast tissue delays the emergence of the first teeth. If the baby is bottle fed, then the baby works more vigorously on the harder rubber teat and perhaps the first teeth can emerge a little earlier in the case of a bottle fed baby. Teeth usually appear in a certain order. However, the timing can vary up to six months either early or late. The first teeth to appear are the lower central incisors and they often appear at about the six months stage of life.
Teeth tend to appear in pairs, generally one after the other and the lower pairs first.
From the age of six months the first teeth, which will number 20, usually appear every two to three months. As the number increases there may be a longer gap between the molar and the incisor teeth which should all have appeared towards the end of the second year. By the age of three your child should have all twenty first teeth in place. If this has not occurred or if there is an extra tooth, a dentist should be consulted in order to prepare for the emergence of the permanent teeth later on in life. These start to appear around the age of 6 and the first to appear are the molars, one on either side, top and bottom, which appear behind the baby molars and don t actually displace any teeth.