The first teeth appear some time between the fifth and ninth months. These are the two central lower teeth. The average time of dentition in a healthy child is six months. Generally these two teeth appear very close together. Next, between the eighth and twelfth month come the four upper central teeth. Between the twelfth and eighteenth month the baby cuts two more lower central teeth, and four double teeth. Next in order are the four canine teeth, the upper teeth in this set are known as “eye teeth” and the two lower as “stomach teeth.” These should make their appearance by the twenty-fourth month. Between this date and the thirtieth month come the four back double teeth, which, according to tradition, are the most difficult to cut. In reality, they give little more trouble than any others, provided, of course, that the child is in good condition. The following is an average table of dentition: At 12 months, six teeth. At 18 months, twelve teeth. At 24 months, sixteen teeth. At 30 months, twenty teeth, or the complete set of first, or milk, teeth, as they are sometimes called. Various causes are assigned to delayed dentition or slowness in teething. A prolonged and serious illness, or a case of rickets, will delay the teething; and it is also said to be a matter of family traits. In some families the children, whether bottle-fed or breast-fed, teethe later than in others. As a rule, too, the breast-fed baby teethes earlier and more easily than the bottle-fed baby, because the breast milk keeps the digestion in a uniformly normal condition. The mother who studies this table of dentition and the diet tables on pages 109-111 will see that the cutting of the larger teeth, and the change in diet from milk to foods that require chewing, come at the same time, at eighteen months. If she will follow the directions of the diet table, the baby will not suffer from the consequences of overfeeding or of food that is too rich. There is no way of hastening the process of dentition until the gums become swollen and the child is irritated by the discomfort entailed. Then the gums may be rubbed very gently several times daily with a _clean_ piece of Turkish toweling twisted around the index finger. The old habit of rubbing the baby’s gums with the bare finger, which may or may not have been washed, is not sanitary, nor for that matter does it assist the cutting of the tooth. But the moderate roughness of Turkish toweling is helpful. Small squares of the toweling may be kept in the baby’s basket for ready use. If the baby is feverish and the gums are hot as well as swollen, they can be washed gently several times daily with a soft bit of gauze dipped in water that has been first boiled, then cooled in a sanitary vessel.