Teeth as a Guide to |
 Age Teeth PresentBirth None 3-4 weeks Deciduous teeth coming in Overall health and nutrition, sex, breed, and season of birth affect tooth eruption time. Females' teeth often erupt before those of males, and pups whelped in summer have teeth that erupt before those born in winter. All other factors being equal, teeth of large breeds of dogs tend to erupt more rapidly than those of small breeds. Some dogs, particularly those of small breeds, tend to retain their baby teeth as the adult ones erupt. These teeth have to be removed by a veterinarian when they prevent proper adult tooth placement. After one year of age, chewing habits, mouth health, and mouth structure make it much more difficult to judge a dog's age by his or her teeth. As a guide: 1 1/2 years Cusp worn off lower middle incisor
Teeth are categorized into four types: incisors (I), canines or cuspids (C), premolars (P), and molars (M). The average puppy has twenty-eight deciduous (baby) teeth arranged in the following manner: Starting at the middle of the front teeth (incisors) Upper teeth of 1/2 mouth = 2 (I 3/3 C 1/1 P 3/3) = 28 A puppy has no molars. The appearance of these baby teeth and their replacement by the permanent ones is a convenient way to estimate the age of a young dog. (See table above) The average adult dog has forty-two permanent teeth: Upper teeth of 1/2 mouth =2 (I 3/3 C 1/1 P 4/4 M 2/3) =42 Lower teeth of 1/2 mouth  |
