Oral Health Care for Children aged 7 or above BACK TO HOME
 
Tooth Transition
Permanent teeth erupt when we are about 6 years old. Deciduous teeth will gradually wobble and fall out. All deciduous teeth will be replaced by permanent teeth before we are 12 to 13 years old. This period is called the tooth transition period.
 
Eruption time of permanent teeth

There are 32 permanent teeth and they are more yellowish than deciduous teeth.

Permanent Teeth

Eruption Time

Central Incisor

6 to 8 years

Lateral Incisor

61/2 to 9 years

Canine

81/2to 121/2 years

First Premolar

8 to 12 years

Second Premolar

81/2 to 13 years

First Molar

5 to 7 years

Second Molar

10 to 14 years

Third Molar (Wisdom tooth)

17 to 25 years

 
Points to note during tooth transition
  • When we are 6 years old, the first molar will erupt behind the deciduous molars.
  • This tooth is also called the 'Six-year Molar'. We have to remember to clean our 'Six-year Molars' when brushing, otherwise we will get decay in the tooth and illness in the periodontal tissues.
  • Wobbly teeth will fall out naturally. There is no need to extract them.
  • To avoid gum inflammation, we need to gently brush the wobbly teeth too.
 
How much do you know about tooth transition
  • Why do the new incisors have serrated edges like a saw?
    This is normal for new incisors. The serrated edges will be naturally grinded smooth in time.
  • The erupting upper incisors are flared and there is spacing between them. Is an orthodontic treatment required?
    We call this 'Ugly duckling stage'. When the canines erupted, the gap will close up and the incisors will assume normal alignment.
  • A lower permanent front tooth has erupted behind the deciduous front tooth, is it necessary to extract the deciduous front tooth?
    We normally don't need to extract the deciduous tooth in this case. It will naturally fall off and if there is enough room, the permanent tooth will assume to their normal position later.
  • What can we do if the permanent front teeth are irregular (in malocclusion)?
    We can only confirm that the teeth are in malocclusion after the permanent teeth have replaced all the deciduous teeth. At that time, we can decide whether an orthodontic treatment is necessary.
  • My teeth erupt later than my peers, is it a problem?
    Don't worry, the eruption time of the permanent teeth varies from person to person, even the difference of a year is considered normal.

Related topics:
Queries on Tooth Transition (Leaflet) (PDF)
Two sets of teeth in a lifetime (Leaflet) (PDF)

If you have any problems during tooth transition period, ask your parents to take you to a dentist!

 

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