: a temporary tooth of a young mammal that in human dentition includes four incisors, two canines, and four molars in each jaw : milk tooth, deciduous tooth
If one of my sisters or brothers or I lost a baby tooth, we always put it in an envelope under our pillow.—
Ian Frazier
Ian FrazierBy the time a dog is about a year old, the baby teeth will have been gradually replaced by 42 permanent teeth …—Tom Ewing
Tom Ewing
: a temporary tooth of a young mammal that in human dentition includes four incisors, two canines, and four molars in each jaw : baby tooth, deciduous tooth
Whereas most mammals retain their milk teeth for months, some bat species lose these teeth soon after birth and have adult dentition even before they are weaned.—Rick A. Adams and Scott C. Pedersen
Rick A. Adams and Scott C. Pedersen… a restless, rambunctious boy, who at the beginning of the year had lost two front milk teeth that still showed no signs of being replaced by adult ones.—Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge DanticatExamples of baby tooth in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2026
In a new study in the journal Science Advances, Arora and his colleagues used lasers to decode those layers in the baby teeth shed by 500 children in Mexico City.
—
Maria Godoy,
NPR,
29 Apr. 2026
Katie Cottingham,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 Aug. 2024
As Ana Cristina Herreros explains, long ago in Spain children flung their milk teeth up onto the roofs of their houses so that a Tooth Mouse might collect them.
—
Meghan Cox Gurdon,
wsj.com,
7 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for baby tooth
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Noun
The team also recovered two prehistoric pendants, a human finger bone, and a baby tooth belonging to a child about 11 years old.
—
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2026
In a new study in the journal Science Advances, Arora and his colleagues used lasers to decode those layers in the baby teeth shed by 500 children in Mexico City.
—
Maria Godoy,
NPR,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
One set appeared to be baby teeth, also called milk teeth, while the others were adult teeth.
—
Katie Cottingham,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 Aug. 2024
As Ana Cristina Herreros explains, long ago in Spain children flung their milk teeth up onto the roofs of their houses so that a Tooth Mouse might collect them.
—
Meghan Cox Gurdon,
wsj.com,
7 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for baby tooth
Cite this Entry
“Baby tooth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/baby%20tooth. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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