Stages of Teeth Development

image from nature.com

Human teeth go through a natural growth process from baby teeth to permanent teeth. Baby/temporary teeth refer to the first 20 teeth children develop. These teeth will later fall out, progressively, to give room for 32 permanent teeth. The entire process of dental development will often take around 20 years.

Prenatal Teeth Development

Teeth development begins after 3 weeks of gestation. After 6 weeks of gestation the cusps or tips of temporary teeth begin to appear. At the 4th month period, the hard tissues such as dentin and enamel begin to form. By the 8 month period, the enamel crowns of most primary teeth are completely formed. The permanent teeth begin to form within the jaw, soon after birth.

Baby Teeth Development

Children are often born with their primary teeth still embed in the jaw, but in some cases some teeth will have erupted through the jaw before or after birth. These neonatal teeth are often poorly formed and held loosely in the jaw. For most infants, the front teeth will begin to show up between 4 to 8 months. Then after the 6 month stage, after that point, children often get 4 new teeth every 4 months. At the 12 to 15 month of dental development, all the infants teeth within the gums will have formed crowns.

Children will often have formed all 20 baby teeth, at around 2 ½ to 3 years. The permanent teeth will continue to develop within the jaw. Primary teeth develop at a straight or a slightly crooked angle-though they usually straighten out with time. Children start losing their teeth temporary teeth at around age 6. The pressure from the permanent teeth growing beneath the gums causes the roots of the baby teeth to dissolve and eventually fall out. Most children will have lost their primary teeth by age 13.

Permanent Teeth Development

The first permanent teeth erupt below each of the four second molars, at around age 6. The eruption of permanent teeth is dependent on the alignment of baby teeth. If the baby teeth are too closely pushed together it may lead to the crowding of permanent teeth. By around age 8, all teeth, except for wisdom teeth, will have formed an enamel layer. Then by the ages 12 to 14, the 28 permanent teeth will have fully erupted.