Losing baby teeth can be both an exciting and anxiety-provoking time for children. The excitement of a visit from the Tooth Fairy is balanced with the fact that something in their body is falling out--a phenomenon that some kids will no doubt like, while others dread. Everyone loses their baby teeth, though the process varies somewhat in terms of timing from child to child.
Incisors
The incisors are your front teeth, the four that appear in the front and middle of your mouth on the top and the four corresponding bottom teeth. The American Dental Association--ADA--explains that the incisors are often the first teeth a baby will get, with the bottom lateral--front-most--incisors erupting before the top teeth. The average age to cut primary incisors is 6 to 12 months old, but some children get them earlier. Likewise, these are usually the first teeth to fall out. Most kids lose their top and bottom baby incisors between 6 and 7 years old.
Cuspids
The cuspids, also called canines, are the pointy-shaped teeth next to the incisors. Looking in the mirror, you'll see your cuspids toward the middle-back of your mouth. You have a primary and permanent set of cuspids--on both the left and right sides of your mouth, so these are also baby teeth that you'll lose during childhood. Generally, the eruption of the canines begins between the ages of 16 and 22 months, according to the ADA, but as with the incisors, some children cut these teeth earlier. You're most likely to lose your four cuspids--upper and lower--in your middle school years, between the ages of 9 and 12.
Molars
Children have two sets of molars that are baby teeth, aptly named first molars and second molars. These teeth are located in the back of the mouth. You have a total of eight primary molars that erupt during the second and third years of life. The primary molars are shed, usually in the order in which they were cut, between the ages of 10 and 12.
