Newborn puppies are born toothless. This is due to the fact that, similar to other mammals, a puppy’s sole source of nutrition during its first few weeks of life is its mother’s milk. And you dont really need (or want!) teeth for that. But once teeth begin to erupt, a teething puppy can easily develop into a voracious chewer.
How Many Teeth Should a Dog Have?
As dogs mature from puppies into adult dogs, the number of teeth in their mouths will change.
Actually, puppies are born without teeth, and they don’t begin to erupt until they are 3 to 4 weeks old. These teeth are known as puppy teeth or deciduous teeth.
Usually, by the age of three to five months, they have all 28 of their puppy teeth. These include incisors, canines and premolars.
Puppy Teeth Type of Tooth Number of Upper Teeth Number of Lower Teeth Age of Eruption (Weeks) Function Incisors Six Six Six Four Four Tearing Canines Two Two Three Five Six Grinding Premolars Six Six Five Six
However, the development of puppy and adult teeth can take longer in some dogs (especially those of the toy and small breeds).
Retained teeth are those that do not fall out on their own and remain in your puppy’s mouth.
This problem may result in crowding, which may cause adult teeth to erupt improperly and increase the risk of periodontal disease.
Retained teeth are generally viewed as a genetic problem. Any dog can experience it, but small breed dogs are more likely to do so. To make room for the adult teeth, your veterinarian will need to surgically remove these teeth.
In dogs, the age at which permanent teeth erupt is between three and seven months. Compared to a human’s typical 32 teeth, adult dogs have 42 permanent teeth.
They have 20 teeth in their lower jaw, known as the mandible, and 22 teeth in their upper jaw, known as the maxilla.
The incisor, canine, premolar, and molar dog teeth each have a specific purpose. The functions of each type of tooth and their locations are broken down as follows:
Adult canine teeth Function Incisors 6 6 2-5 Grasping Canines 2 2 5-6 Tearing Premolars 8 8 4-6 Grinding Molars 4 6 4-7 Grinding Type of Tooth # Upper Teeth # Lower Teeth Age of Eruption (Months)
In dogs, the teeth in the front of the mouth are referred to as incisors. The top and bottom jaw have 6 incisors.
Dogs primarily use their incisors to grab things like food, but they can also be used to chew or for grooming.
These teeth are relatively small and have just one root per tooth in both cats and dogs.
The longest teeth in the front of the mouth that resemble “fangs” are the canines. ”.
Two canines are located on the upper jaw and two are located on the lower jaw of dogs. To better grasp objects, these teeth are well-developed and slightly curved.
Canine teeth also only have one root per tooth.
Just behind the canines are the premolars. 16 premolars are present in adult dogs, with 8 on the top jaw and 8 on the bottom jaw.
These teeth are utilized for cutting and grinding food.
Premolar teeth that anchor themselves in the mouth may actually have one to two roots per tooth.
The teeth at the back of a dog’s mouth are called molars. They can look a lot like premolars.
The upper jaw has four molars and the lower jaw has six. To make food easier to swallow and digest, molars are used to cut food into small pieces.
They can be anchored in the dog’s mouth by as few as one root or as many as three roots.
It is not typical for a dog to lose teeth, aside from the change from puppy teeth to adult teeth. Call your veterinarian and make an appointment if you notice that your dog is losing its adult teeth.
The most frequent causes of adult dog tooth loss are listed below.
Advanced dental disease in a dog’s mouth is the most frequent cause of tooth loss in canines. Periodontal disease can result in infected gums and decaying teeth if proper dental hygiene is not practiced, such as brushing and veterinary dental cleanings.
It is uncomfortable and painful for your dog’s body to naturally reject a decaying tooth, and in extreme cases, it can result in a life-threatening infection.
Additionally, systemic effects on organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys have been linked to dental disease. If they become severe, the bacteria in a dog’s mouth can lead to infections in other parts of the body.
If your dog suffers trauma, such as from chewing something or receiving another mouth injury, their teeth may fall out.
Dense mineral or bone products are some of the most frequent sources of fractures and tooth loss.
Avoid giving your dog things like beef or pork bones to protect their teeth because they can be too hard and frequently cause fractures and tooth damage.
Dogs use their mouths for more than just eating and drinking, so their teeth are subject to decay and wear and tear at a much faster rate than our own.
They pick things up, carry things, and chew things with their teeth. A dog’s mouth also frequently comes into contact with slobbery toys, hair, dirt, feces, and food. The state of their teeth could be negatively impacted by all of this.
Some dogs, particularly Greyhounds and small breed dogs, experience tooth decay at an incredibly fast rate, necessitating the removal of numerous teeth by a veterinarian over the course of their lifetimes.
Your veterinarian will probably advise professional cleaning under general anesthesia combined with the extraction or removal of any diseased teeth as a treatment for decayed teeth. This is a very common daily procedure for animal hospitals.
When a dog’s diseased tooth is properly extracted as opposed to being left in their mouth as a source of pain and infection, their mouth is much more at ease. Unexpectedly, if necessary, dogs can survive without teeth.
When Do Puppies Lose Their Teeth?
Baby teeth typically fall out about a month after erupting, and puppies typically lose their baby teeth faster than they come in.
At three months of age, the majority of puppies lose their first set of teeth, typically beginning with the incisors.
The majority of a puppy’s baby teeth fall out and the adult molars begin to erupt at four months. During this time, your puppy may begin to gnaw quite a bit.
A puppy should have nearly all of her adult teeth by the time she is six months old, and any teeth that are erupting unevenly or creating an overbite may require dental work before the teething period is complete.
What are acceptable chew toys, and which ones should be avoided?
Dogs tend to chew almost everything, so problems have been found with almost everything. This applies to rawhide, pigs ears, or other animal parts given to dogs as chew toys, as well as to bones, plastic toys, tennis balls, and other items (some dog owners swear by the “bully stick,” which is the dried or cooked amputated penis of a bull). Some of these objects have punctured or blocked the intestines, which frequently necessitate surgery and can be fatal. Other objects have blocked the throat, which has led to dogs asphyxiating.
Despite these facts, keep in mind that over the years, millions of dogs have chewed millions of objects, most of them without incident. Consequently, even though the risk seems low, as with most activities, it cannot be completely eliminated. When your puppy starts chewing, keep an eye on him and consult your veterinarian about the safest chew toys for your puppy. Even when your puppy is chewing on toys that are recommended, you should keep an eye on him because no toy is 100% safe.
Keep in mind that some items, even if they are safe for ingestion or inhalation, may still be bad for your dog’s teeth. The majority of veterinary dentists advise against letting puppies and elderly dogs chew on anything tough. This would apply to nylon-made items as well as to bones and antlers. This advice is frequently summed up by veterinary dentists as, “Don’t let your dog chew anything that won’t bend.” “.
FAQ
Do dogs lose their teeth twice?
Dogs have two sets of teeth throughout their lives, just like humans do. 28 deciduous teeth, also known as primary, baby, or milk teeth, are present in puppies. 42 permanent teeth, also known as secondary teeth, are present in adult dogs.
How many times do dogs teeth fall?
Dogs do not have any baby molars. The deciduous teeth start to fall out and the permanent teeth start to erupt at about 12 weeks. Typically, all permanent teeth have erupted and all baby teeth have fallen out by the time a child is 6 months old.
Is it OK if dogs lose their teeth?
However, it’s not normal if your dog loses their permanent teeth at random as they age and have all of them. If you regularly brush your dog’s teeth and practice good dog mouth hygiene, this is cause for concern, and you should take your dog to the vet to rule out any potential underlying issues.