How Many Teeth Do Dogs Have In Different Stages Of Development

Have you got a little cute puppy or a full-fledged canine and just like me you sometimes wonder how many teeth do dogs have? Yes? Well, in order to understand the dog’s teeth, let’s first identify ourselves with the assembly of these teeth. It’ll definitely give you a clear picture about the number of teeth in juvenile stages and in later stages. Every time when you feed your dog, you witness his teeth cracking the hard bone or flesh easily and every so often one get a feeling as if our teeth are no different than your dog. Isn’t it? Yes, that’s right! The teeth of humans look a lot like your puppy’s and so there is not much difference between the two.

A puppy gets his diet from mother’s milk and hence in his initial stages of development, he doesn’t require any teeth. However by the time he reaches two to three weeks old, baby teeth (which are composed of incisor teeth and canines) start developing. After two weeks from the time baby teeth grow, they become totally matured but since jaws also grow with the passage of time so adult teeth begin to appear thereby substituting the baby teeth. Like humans, puppies also release their teeth at the age of around three to seven months. Incisors are the first teeth to collapse and after that, canines and premolars follow. So how many teeth do dogs have? Well, there are basically baby or deciduous teeth (which appear when they reach almost 5 to 6 weeks) as well as adult teeth in a dog’s mouth which are quite similar to humans. The upper section of the dog’s mouth is typically known as Maxillary Arcade while the lower section is called as Mandibular Arcade. The entire set of teeth in the mouth of a doggie is divided equally among both arcades. Now let’s study in detail about how many teeth do dogs have by considering the different types of teeth in every dog’s mouth.

Dog mouth - How many teeth do dogs have — Skeleton of dog’s mouth | Image courtesy of netplaces.com

How Many Teeth Do Dogs Have And Of How Many Types

As far as the question of how many teeth do dogs have is concerned, well! it really banks on the age of doggies. A puppy has 28 teeth as and when he becomes 5 to 6 weeks old and are called as deciduous teeth. Typically, teeth of pooches are divided into 4 different kinds naming incisors, canines, premolars and molars. Each of them has its respective purpose with the help of which dogs manage to dine no matter it’s a rock-solid or fragile substance. So let’s try to understand what kinds of teeth they are and at what location they are found in a mouth because it’s very important to know them before we move ahead for how many teeth do dogs have in their mouth.

Incisor Teeth

As you know there are two sets of teeth in a dog’s mouth like adult and baby teeth. So when incisors appear, adult incisor teeth tend to drive through in three to five months while deciduous incisor teeth drive through within four to five weeks. Now the question is how many teeth do dogs have and where they are found? Well, incisor teeth are flanked by canine teeth and are normally 12 in number that is to say, six on the upper jaw (maxilla) and six on the lower jaw (mandible). These teeth are not typically used for nibbling meat or something (but only for cleaning up) because they are very small in size. Instead carnissals and canine teeth are used for the very purpose.

Canine Teeth

Also known as fangs or cuspids, canine teeth are the vital teeth for doggies when it comes to gnawing and ripping the flesh open. If you ever happen to witness your dog’s mouth, the biggest as well as the most protruding teeth are called canine teeth. There are two canines located on the upper jaws (maxilla) and two on the lower jaws (mandible) of the dog’s mouth adding up to four canines in total. The baby canines tend to drive through within four to six weeks whereas adult comes out in four to six months.

Premolar Teeth

These teeth are basically temporary teeth and assist in gnawing the food. As premolar teeth have really pointed ends, so they are perfectly designed for the purpose of trimming. Though pooches do not use them too often in crushing meat but they usually help them while chopping up toys. They are surrounded by carnissal as well as canine teeth that’s why they are rightly called as provisional teeth. . The baby teeth tend to drive through within four to six weeks whereas adult comes out in four to six months. Premolars are found at the back of canines as 4 teeth on maxilla (upper jaw) while 4 teeth sit in mandible (lower jaw).

Molar Teeth

Molars are located at the backmost part of the dog’s mouth and are therefore the very last teeth to fall off. Since molar teeth have a rather level surface so dogs typically use them for biting off flesh without skeletons and their falling period start with the introduction of jaws at about five to seven months. There are 3 molars on mandible (lower jaw) and 2 molars on maxilla (upper jaw).