Skull of a Neolithic girl c.2800BC from Greece. Her age at death was approximately 9 years. This view shows permanent teeth located above and below the primary (deciduous) teeth, prior to exfoliation. The replacement of primary teeth begins around age six, when the permanent teeth start to appear in the mouth, resulting in mixed dentition. The erupting permanent teeth cause root resorption, where the permanent teeth push on the roots of the primary teeth, causing the roots to be dissolved by odontoclasts (as well as surrounding alveolar bone by osteoclasts) and become absorbed by the forming permanent teeth. The process of shedding primary teeth and their replacement by permanent teeth is called exfoliation. This may last from age six to age twelve. By age twelve there usually are only permanent teeth remaining.