Understanding Puppy Teeth Stages

Author:
Adrienne Farricelli CPDT-KA, Dip.CBST
Updated:
Nov 15, 2024 1:32 PM EST

Puppy teeth go through multiple stages.
Photo by Fox on Unsplash

All About Puppy Teeth Development

The development of a puppy's teeth is an interesting process with many important functions. The teething journey includes multiple phases, including the milk teeth falling out and the eruption of permanent adult teeth.

If you are interested in the whys and hows of a puppy's tooth development, this article will provide you with something to sink your teeth into.

The Development of a Puppy's Milk Teeth

Milk teeth are deciduous teeth, meaning that they're only temporary and will eventually start falling out and be replaced by permanent adult teeth. Puppies, almost without exception, are born without teeth.

Don't be surprised: Puppies are born rather helpless. Indeed, they are blind, deaf, and barely mobile. This is because canines are categorized as "altricial" species, which means they are not as precocious as other animal species like cows and horses, which are capable of seeing, hearing, standing up, and walking right after they are born.

After all, teeth aren't really necessary at this stage since the puppies are still successfully capable of suckling the milk from their mom without them.

Timeline: Eruption of Milk Teeth

The puppy's milk teeth will start coming in once the puppy reaches two to three weeks of age.

Incisors

The first teeth to appear are the incisors, basically, the middle teeth that are found on the top and bottom of the mouth. The pup should have six incisors on the top and six incisors on the bottom for a total of 12.

Canines

At about four weeks, they'll also get their four canines, the sharp, long teeth right next to the incisors, both on the top and bottom. These first sharp teeth start making the nursing mom uncomfortable, which is a natural phase meant to start the weaning process.

Basically, when the puppy nurses at this stage, its teeth start irritating the mother's nipples, which causes her to become more reluctant to nurse. Since she is more reluctant, the puppies start becoming more interested in other food sources. In the wild, they would eat the food their mom regurgitates for them after eating.

Puppy Teething Age Chart


Developmental Stage	Tooth Development
Birth	Puppies are born without teeth.
2–3 weeks	First teeth start erupting; the first 12 incisors usually appear.
4 weeks	The first four canines begin to appear around this time.
3–6 weeks	The 12 premolars usually appear within this period.
6–8 weeks	By this time, the puppy should have a complete set of 28 teeth.

Eventually, puppies develop their adult teeth.
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When Do Puppies' Adult Teeth Start to Grow?

At about eight weeks, the puppy's first adult teeth start pushing the milk teeth out of the way. This is around when they start falling out. Consider yourself lucky if you find an occasional baby tooth in your pup's water bowl or on the ground. In many cases, puppies will just swallow them.

This is a good time to see the vet, just to make sure the teeth are growing normally. Sometimes, a baby tooth will fail to fall, and the adult tooth may grow abnormally beside it. In this case, the vet will need to remove the baby tooth.

The vet will also check that the bite is normal and closes correctly as per the breed's standard. Malocclusions (bad bites) can be caused by retained puppy teeth. In some breeds, however, this is the standard.

The Development of Adult Teeth in Puppies

The rate at which baby teeth fall out will vary from puppy to puppy, so this is a general guideline.

Incisors: The first baby teeth to fall out are the incisors, around when the puppy is three to four months old (12 to 16 weeks). The adult incisors should come in by the time the puppy is five months.
Canines: The canine teeth will fall out around the fourth month (16 weeks).
Premolars: Finally, the premolars will fall out at around six months.

Adult Dog Teeth

When puppies get their adult teeth, they also gain an extra four premolars and 10 molars. All adult canines, premolars, and molars should erupt when the puppy is between four to seven months old.

By the age of about eight months, the puppy will have lost all 28 milk teeth but should have a complete set of 42 adult teeth, with 22 teeth in the lower jaw and 20 teeth in the upper jaw.

The 42 teeth include:

12 incisors (6 upper, 6 lower)
4 canines (2 upper, 2 lower)
16 premolars (8 upper, 8 lower)
10 molars (4 upper, 6 lower)

How to Tell a Puppy's Age by Looking at Permanent Teeth

For the most part, veterinarians can estimate a puppy's age by looking at the eruption of the baby and permanent teeth. They can also tell the age of adult dogs, to a certain extent, by looking at the wear and tear of the incisors.

Eruption of permanent central incisors: 2–5 months
Eruption of permanent intermediate incisors: 2–5 months
Eruption of permanent corner incisors: 4–5 months
Eruption of permanent canines: 5 months
Eruption of permanent first premolar: 4–5 months
Eruption of permanent second premolar: 6 months
Eruption of permanent third premolar: 6 months
Eruption of permanent fourth premolar: 4–5 months
Eruption of permanent first molar: 5–6 months
Eruption of permanent second molar: 6–7 months
Eruption of permanent third molar: 6–7 months

Puppy Teeth Care

It's very important to point out that a puppy's teeth are very different from an adult dog's teeth, and they require quite different care. Don't just purchase your young puppy any type of toy or any type of bone or treats!

Instead, look for treats and bones specifically designed for puppies. Read the labels and see if they're appropriate for your pet's age.

Teething Relief for Puppies

It's normal for your puppy to be chewing a lot during the teething phase. While there are toys for teething puppies, sometimes, something as simple as a clean wet washrag put into the freezer and offered to the pup can bring relief to those sore gums.

Why Are Puppy Teeth So Sharp?

Why do puppies have such sharp teeth? One obvious purpose is that, back in time, pups needed some teeth in order to chomp on their very first samples of meat.

Speculation has it that the sharpness had two more specific purposes: starting the weaning process and aiding the pups in learning the basics of bite inhibition.

Weaning

When the pups are growing, their teeth start irritating the mother dog when she nurses. It's totally normal, therefore, for her to start resenting nursing (and who can blame her!) and moving away. Deprived from the milk bar, the pups will become naturally drawn to other sources of food, jump-starting the weaning process.

Bite Inhibition

In a similar fashion, those sharp teeth also irritate the pup's littermates. They'll likely squeal and withdraw from play to teach the biting puppy to be less rough with his mouth.

Through trial and error, the pup eventually learns the basics of bite inhibition (when I bite hard, good things stop), which needs to be continued when the pup plays with his new owners. Fortunately, despite being sharp, those puppy jaws are weak!

What Are the Functions of Dog Teeth, Anyway?

In a domestic setting, Rover's long fangs and complete dentition may appear unnecessary and a tad bit intimidating; however, if you take a look back, you'll notice that these teeth had many important functions.

The incisors were used to rip meat and scrape it off of bones. They also helped the dog remove burrs and other debris from their fur.
The canine teeth were meant to inflict stabbing wounds on their prey.
The premolars allowed dogs to rip meat away from bones.
The molars were meant to grind and crush, which is something a puppy doesn't need to do while on a mushy, soft diet. This explains why molars aren't included in a puppy's baby teeth. There's also a reason why dogs have four molars on top and six on the bottom. These extra molars help Rover to crush bones.

Resources and Further Reading

Kanwal, M., DVM. (2023). "Everything You Need to Know About Puppy Teething." PetMD.
Reidy, S. (2023). "Puppy Teething: Timeline and What to Expect." BetterVet.
Shojai, A. (2024). "Puppy Teething Timeline: What to Expect at Every Stage." The Spruce Pets.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

Questions & Answers

Question: My puppy has no front bottom teeth. What is the cause?

Answer: The front bottom teeth are called incisors. The incisors are the first baby teeth expected to fall out at approximately three to four months of age. These should be replaced by the adult incisors by the time the puppy is five-months-old.

Question: My puppy had a perfect scissor bite at 8 weeks. He just turned 6 months old I noticed today his bottom canines are about half way grown but it looks like they are just touching the edge of the jaw. Is it possible it will correct itself as the teeth grow?

Answer: This is difficult to predict because it depends on whether the issue has to do with mandible and skull growth or the teeth not aligning correctly. In general, if the issue is due to teeth not aligned correctly, it's unlikely that things will change as the dog matures. If it's a matter of skull/mandible growth, there may be hope considering that based on what breed you own, the skull may continue to grow until the pup is 18 months old. If you are planning on showing your dog or are concerned about malocclusion problems, it may be worth consulting with your vet and getting a referral with a veterinary dentist who could tell you much more on heredity, prognosis, and possible treatment options.

Question: My puppy is 5 months. She has 2 rows of front top and bottom teeth. Is this normal?

Answer: This sounds like retained baby teeth. The sooner you can have this corrected, the better. Here's article about retained baby teeth in dogs; https://discover.hubpages.com/animals/Retained-Bab...

Question: How much should my puppy sleep?

Answer: Puppies like babies tend to sleep a lot as they have a lot of growing to do! How much they sleep ultimately depends on how old they are. Young pups still nursing pretty much sleep 90 percent of the time and the rest is spent nursing and crawling. At around 4 weeks pups start getting more active and you may therefore watch them start playing too. As they grow, they'll do several play sessions, then their batteries seem to discharge and so do a big nap and then back to playing. A 12-week old pup can be awake a lot longer than an 8-week old pup, so yes, age is a factor.