I L D Teething. Your baby s first teeth are all formed and waiting to emerge at the time of birth. As breast milk is nature s way of supplying food in the early months of life, it s logical that teeth which may damage precious nipple and surrounding tissue, should not appear until late in the feeding months. 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.