Canine teeth - How many teeth does an adult dog have?

Dog Owner’s Guide to Canine Teeth

Dogs have been known to be domesticated from many centuries as they can carry out different jobs such as guarding human habitats, hunt prey or dangerous animals. The use of dogs as pets has been increasing in recent times. According to a research, the number of pet dogs is nearly 1 billion. Even medical science have reiterated the usage of pets as they allow human to feel healthy, reduce their depression and stress and promote positive attitude. Just like other animals, they use their teeth for grabbing, breaking bones in food and ripping. Just like us, they also have two sets of teeth in their lifetime. Different teeth are designed to serve different usage. Thus, if you have a pet dog, you would want to know how many teeth your dog has.

Milk Teeth or First Teeth

Just like human babies, puppies too prefer milk for the first few months of their life for which they do not need any teeth. Thus, the puppy’s teeth are referred to as milk teeth as they come out from the gums. These teeth are small, but sharp for self-defence. These teeth are held in place by small root and as they start to grow, these teeth are replaced by permanent teeth

Adult Dog Teeth 

Teeth adult dog are larger in size compared to milk teeth and are firmly entrenched in the jaws by strong roots till they are alive. By the time they are six months old, most dogs will have adult teeth amounting to 42 in numbers. Each of the different types of adultteeth are designed for specific purpose:

•  Incisors – The smaller teeth in front of the mouth are used for picking items and also meat from bones. Dogs also use them to get rid of fleas and insects from their body. There are total of 12 incisors, with six in the upper jaw and six in the lower one.
• Canine – When your dog is angry, their first sign is usually the first two teeth that you see in their mouth. These are known as canines or fangs. When a dog bites someone, it is the canines that make the first wound. They are also used for holding toy or bone. Dogs have four canines, two on the upper jaw and two on the lower on each of the sides. There are two incisor teeth that lie between two canine teeth on upper and lower jaw.
• Premolars – If you have offered a bone to your dog, they would take it using their incisor and canine. They will then transfer the food to a place at the back from where they will start to chew. These teeth are called premolar teeth and are the same teeth used to tear the flesh from bone. There are 8 premolars in the upper jaw and 8 in the lower jaw, four on each left side and four on the right side.
• Molars – Molars are used to carry out heavy work such as breaking bones or hard foods. These are located behind the premolars and are total of four in number. Three on either of the side in the upper jaw and two on either side in the lower jaw.

Dogs can also face oral problems if proper oral hygiene is not maintained. These include tooth decay, wounds and even breaking bones when they eat. Thus, one needs to ensure that their safeguard the dog’s health by using a proper oral care routine once a month to make their teeth strong and clean the tartar in their teeth.