A dog’s teeth is an important instrument for tearing and shredding their foods. This instrument is also used for a dog’s instinctive behavior, such as growling, pulling, and biting. Other than those physiological functions of dogs’ teeth, some researchers show that it is possible to know a dog’s age by telling it by their teeth condition and appearance. Despite the relative and indefinite result, it may tell, this art of guessing can be quite helpful to estimate how old a dog you are going to adopt is, for instance.
A common dog’s teeth structure
Similar to humans, dogs have their puppy and adult teeth. These types of teeth are designed based on its main function during a certain period of age.
Dog’s puppy teeth:
- Is also called as milk teeth, since the teeth erupt through the gum while pups are nursing.
- Are tiny in size, yet are sharp.
- Have less strong root, making them easier to shed within puppies’ first four months.
- Do not have molars.
Dog’s adult teeth:
- Replace dog’s puppy teeth for the rest of the dog’s life.
- Have stronger roots to hold the teeth securely.
- Start to form when dogs reach their 6 months of age and count almost twice in numbers compared to the puppy teeth.
Dog’s adult teeth are of several different types of teeth:
- Incisors—small teeth in the front of a dog’s jaws, used for scraping foods, picking up items, and grooming dog’s fur. Dogs have twelve incisors—six in each jaw.
- Canines—the fangs, which dogs use to bite and hold onto anything dogs want to keep. Dogs have four fangs—two in each jaw.
- Premolars—used for chewing toys or soft foods. Premolars are located on either side of upper and lower jaws. Dogs have eight premolars.
- Molars—used for heavy duty works, such as breaking down harder foods. Adult dogs have five molars.
Telling dog’s age by their teeth
Although used by canines to eat and hold onto anything they want to keep, dog’s teeth is believed to be able to tell us about their estimated age. Dog’s age can be told by noticing their teeth structure by paying attention to some signs, such as:
Telling your dog’s age through the teeth growth.
- Your dog is not more than four weeks old if no teeth are noticeable. Puppy canines, however, are going to occur after three to four weeks of dog’s life, while the incisors and premolars occur after four or six weeks. By the time of your puppy is eight weeks old, its entire puppy teeth are completely formed. These dog’s puppy teeth will last for the next four or five months without any noticeable changes. Puppy’s teeth are around 28 teeth.
- Your dog is possibly five months old if you notice some shed teeth, especially the incisors. Then, it will start growing the permanent adult teeth, begun by the canines and molars. By the age of seven months, a dog should have had their complete adult teeth. Adult teeth are around 42 teeth.
Telling your dog’s age through the tooth wear.
- Puppy’s teeth, which stays on until the dog is four of five months old is white and clean. There is no visible tooth wear, such as plaque and tartar. If your dog is very young, you might notice it has reached the age of approximately five months old when some of its baby teeth shed.
- A one-year-or-so dog will have some yellow stain on their molars—the teeth in the back of the gum. You will need to lift their mouth to see the accumulation, which can still be possible to eliminate by regular tooth brushing.
- A dog which has reached three years of age will have more tartar and yellow stain on their teeth, either on the molars or premolars. Their gum also reddens, and they tend to have bad breath. This tooth wear will increase eventually.
- By the age of 10 to 15, an adult dog may suffer from tooth decay and loss. You might notice some brown stain instead of yellow, followed by decayed teeth.