When you’re born it’s unlikely that you have any of your teeth already (though it can happen). Your teeth start developing before you’re born but don’t come through till you’re between the ages of six to 12 months. 

You have more teeth as an adult than as a kid because there’s more room as your body grows and matures. Your mouth isn’t big enough to hold all of your teeth until you’re closer to the age of 12. Everyone is born with all of their teeth in their jaw. As you grow they continue to develop and grow too. As your jaw grows there’s room for the rest of your teeth to erupt.

Your baby teeth are much smaller than your adult teeth so that they fit in your mouth. By the age of three, you should have all of your baby teeth. All 20 of them. Around the age of five, you start losing your small, baby teeth for your larger, adult teeth.

As an adult, it’s likely you have 32 teeth. The new teeth are the first and second premolars that come in when you’re 10 to 12 years old. These teeth are also known as the second and third bicuspids and are your molars at the back of your mouth.

The last teeth that you may get are your wisdom teeth. These can start coming in during your late teens. While your wisdom teeth can erupt like any other tooth - straight and fully functioning, it’s also possible that they never come up. In most cases, wisdom teeth have to be removed because of an increased risk of infection or they’re coming in crooked, causing crowding and pain. 

To get a closer look at what’s happening with all of your teeth, your dentist might take a panoramic x-ray. A panoramic x-ray gives dentists a more complete picture of your mouth.

If you have any questions about your teeth, let us know. The dentists at either of our Winnipeg dentist clinics would be happy to answer any of your questions you may have.