At what age do the permanent canine and premolar teeth in dogs generally erupt? What to Know

Other primary tooth eruption facts:

A general rule of thumb is that for every 6 months of life, approximately 4 teeth will erupt.

Girls generally precede boys in tooth eruption.

Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth.

Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs — one on the right and one on the left.

Primary teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than the permanent teeth that will follow.

By the time a child is 2 to 3 years of age, all primary teeth should have erupted.

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces between the primary teeth. This is a perfectly natural growth process that provides the necessary space for the larger permanent teeth to emerge. Between the ages of 6 and 12, a mixture of both primary teeth and permanent teeth reside in the mouth.

How many sets of teeth do dogs have?

As in humans, dogs have two sets of teeth in their lifetime. Puppies have 28 deciduous teeth also known as primary, baby, or milk teeth. Adult dogs have 42 permanent teeth, also known as secondary teeth.

When do puppies get their permanent teeth?

In puppies, the entire teething process is relatively rapid. Teething begins in puppies at about 3½ to 4 months of age, when the deciduous incisors begin to be replaced by permanent incisors. By the age of 6 to 7 months, most puppies have all of their adult teeth.

Long before adult teeth erupt through the gums, they begin developing from tooth buds located in the upper and lower jaws. As the adult teeth develop, they begin to exert pressure against the roots of the deciduous teeth, stimulating the roots of the deciduous teeth to begin resorbing. Once the roots have resorbed, the crowns of the deciduous teeth fall out. You may even find these hollow shells of baby teeth on the floor or in your puppys bedding, but very often they are swallowed while your puppy is eating to no ill effect.

During the teething process, your puppy may drool, may be reluctant to eat as robustly as usual, and may be irritable due to a tender mouth. Almost all puppies have the urge to chew when they are teething. It is important that you do what you can to direct your puppys chewing towards acceptable and safe objects. Do not allow your puppy to chew peoples shoes, clothes, or the furniture. Avoid hard toys, nylon chews, cow hooves, and ice cubes as they can damage the teeth. Avoid feeding your puppy bones (cooked or otherwise), as they are also too hard to chew and can result in damaged teeth and intestinal damage if swallowed.

You may also notice a characteristic breath odor, known as puppy breath, which is associated with teething. This odor is normal and will last as long as the puppy is teething.

When a deciduous tooth is still present at the time that the permanent tooth has begun to erupt, it is referred to as a persistent tooth. When this happens, the baby tooth occupies the place in the mouth that is meant for the permanent tooth, forcing the permanent tooth to erupt in an abnormal position. The end result is crowding of the teeth and possibly even an abnormal contact of the teeth with either teeth and/or the soft oral tissues. Malpositioned teeth result in an abnormal bite.

Retained Deciduous Teeth. Dr. Dan explains puppy baby teeth.

There’s enough to think about and keep track of when caring for a puppy—feeding, walking, training, housebreaking (and don’t forget playtime!)—that you might not give their teeth a whole lot of thought.

But in their first 8 months or so, puppies will develop two sets of teeth, and there’s more to caring for them than just making sure they don’t leave marks on your furniture legs.

Here’s all the information you need to know about those cute (and sharp!) little puppy teeth.