TEETH:

Two dental arches having alveoli for teeth.

Function: Useful in prehension, mastication and knowing the approximate age of the animal.

Composed of 4 tissues from inwards:-Pulp, Dentine, Cement and Enamel.

Pulp cavity (Centre of tooth)-Filled with soft gelatinious tissue, Supplied with nerves & vessels, Which enter
cavity through root.

Dentine: Yellowish, hard, ivory like structure, Surrounds pulp. Has dentine tubules and dentine fibres. Secreted
by odontoblast

In crown or body-Dentine is covered from outside by hardest structure of body, Enamel- Which is bluish white in
colour, Secreted by ameloblasts

Root - also consists of dentine, Surrounded by a structure known as cement, Secreted by cementoblast

Alveolar periosteum/periodontal membrane--A layer of CT Attached root of tooth to alveolus

A) Brachydont (low crowned) have a root (embedded part), constricted neck and crown or body (protion of tooth
projecting into oral cavity), can further be classified into:
i) Tuberculosectorial: occlusal surface has multitubercular pointed projections, used for shearing or cutting e.g.
molars of dog.

ii) Bunodont: occlusal surface has multitubercular flat projections e.g. molars of pig.

B) Hypsodont (high crowned) crown and neck not easily distinguished, and only body and root, can further be
classified into:
i) Selenodont: infundibula and dentine in cross section appear as semilunar in shape, e.g. molars of ruminants.
ii) Lophodont: occlusal surface shows folds and ridges of dentine, e.g., molars of horse.

Surfaces of a tooth:

Occlusal or table or masticatory: comes in contact with the same or opposite jaw

Contact: which is related to teeth adjacent to it

Mesial: surface towards previous tooth, Distal: surface towards next tooth

Lingual: which is towards tongue

Vestibular/labial: towards cheek or lips

The classification on the basis of shape:

A) Homodont: same type of teeth e.g. in snakes

B) Heterodont: different groups of teeth such as

Incisors (I), canines (c), Pre-molars (PM) and Molars (M) e.g. in mammals.

Monophyodont: not replaced. Eg. manatee, seal, and walrus

Diphyodont: replaces once

a) Deciduous or temporary: (milk teeth) these are replaced by replaced by permanent teeth.
b) Permanent: these are not further replaced
Polyphyodont: continuously replaced throughout life eg. crocodiles

Thecodont: embedded in socket. Eg. mammals

Pleurodont: teeth fused by their sides to inner surface of jaw bones. Eg. lizards, snakes

Acrodont: just in contact with base- reptiles.

Dental formula: indicates the number of teeth in each group and is represented as 2(I – C – PM - M)= Total number of
teeth

Some other related terms are:

Diastema: space in between the teeth, usually seen between incisors and premolars.

Isognathous: the occlusal surface of upper and lower dental arches coincide when mouth is closed e.g. pig.

Anisognathous: the occlusal surfaces of upper and lower dental arches do not coincide when mouth is closed e.g. ox,
horse and dog.

Periodontum: strong connective tissue, which anchors root of the tooth in the alveoli. It prevents the tooth from being
pressed.

Infundibulum: a deep invagination instead of simple cap of enamel on the crown which becomes partly filled up with
cement e.g. incisors of horse, cheek teeth of ox and horse. It is an invagination of enamel on the occlusal
surface of tooth projecting vertically into dentine.

Cup or mark: infindibulum when filled by food deposits becomes dark coloured.

TEETH OF OX.

Incisors: upper incisors replaced by thick dental pad; lower incisors are 4 in number having fan like or radiating
arrangement and no infundibulum. Designated as central, 1st intermediate, 2nd intermediate and corner (some
consider corner ones as modified canines). Each incisor shovel shaped. Lingual and labial surfaces meet to
form a sharp edge. Neck and root are distinct. Root is round or square and exhibits some degree of movement.

Cheek teeth: progressive increase in size from rostral to caudal. Upper premolars have one semilunar shaped
infundibulum with convexity towards tongue and two vestibular and one lingual roots. Upper molars have two
infundibulae with convexity towards tongue. Lower premolars and molars have two infundibulae but
convexity towards vestibule. Each has two roots. The vestibular surface of upper cheek teeth is more in length
as compared to lingual surface and reverse is true for lower molars.

TEETH OF HORSE

These increase in size from corner to central.

Incisors: designated as central, intermediate and corner. The upper and lower incisors are placed at an angle which
reduces with age. Labial surface semicircular in young and their embedded parts converge.

Infundibulum: only seen in incisors and is deeper in upper than in lower ones. The transverse diameter of the table
surface decreases with age and infundibulum moves towards lingual surface. (helpful in determining age).

Canines: simple, smaller than incisors, curved with concavity directed caudally. Developed in males, vestigial in
females and interupt the interdental space. Upper canines are present at the junction of pre-maxilla and maxilla
in the maxilla bone, lower canines usually nearer to the corner incisors.
Cheek teeth: large, prismatic, quadrilateral in cross section except 1st and last which are triangular. PM1 is called as
“Wolf Tooth”, usually in usually in upper jaw and is much reduced.

In upper cheek teeth exposed parts converge while the embedded parts diverge. Central ridge separating two
grooves on buccal surface, 1st cheek tooth may have an additional ridge. Lingual surface has wider rounded
ridge (the accessory pillar or column) separating two shallow grooves. Masticatory surface has rostral and
caudal infundibulae. 1st and last cheek teeth have 2 roots. Remainder have 3 or 4 roots.

In lower cheek teeth, embedded parts diverge more. Buccal surface has longitudinal furrow but in last a
secondary one present. Lingual surface is uneven and grooves are not regular. Masticatary surface has folds
and ridges. 1st five have 2 roots; 6th has 3 roots.

TEETH OF DOG

Incisors: incisors of upper jaw bigger than lower, roots of upper incisors laterally compressed and converge towards
median plane. Size of upper incisors increases from 1st to 3rd. Labial surface convex; lingual surface is slightly
concave and is marked off from the neck by V shaped ridge called cingulum. Upper 1st and 2nd incisors have
trilobed crowns; I3 is conical. Lower incisors crowns are bilobed.

Canines: large, conical and curved. Upper canines bigger than the lower. Roots are directed caudally.

Cheek teeth: PM4 of upper and M1 of lower called carnasial or sectorial teeth. Both are largest and adapted for
shearing flesh. Teeth caudal to these are tuberculate having rounded eminences while those cranial to them
have sharp edges.

Upper and lower PM1 has 1 root. Upper PM2 to PM4 have 2 roots

Lower PM2-PM4 have 2 roots. Upper M1 – M2 have 3 roots. Lower M1 – M2 have 2 roots; lower M3 has 1 root.

TEETH OF PIG

Incisors: upper incisors curved inwards. Size decreases from 1st to 3rd, Lower incisors chisel shaped.

Canines: also called tusks. Better developed in males. Lower is bigger than upper. Dental cavity remains open.

Cheek teeth: bunodont type and their size increase caudally.

The tusks of pig are remarkable and never stop growing.

Upper row: PM1 – 2roots; PM2 and PM3 – 3roots; PM4 -4/5 roots, M1 to M3 -6 roots.

Lower row: PM1 and PM2 – 2 roots, PM3 and PM4 – 3 roots. M1 and M2 – 4 roots, M3 – 6 roots.
 OX: ERUPTION AND REPLACEMENT OF TEETH

HORSE: ERUPTION AND REPLACEMENT OF TEETH

 DOG: ERUPTION AND REPLACEMENT OF TEETH

PIG: ERUPTION AND REPLACEMENT OF TEETH

Examination of teeth can be used to determine age of animal. Knowing eruption (when teeth come in) and wear
patterns can let you estimate age. Wear patterns are sometimes not accurate, depends on diet, Behavior,
environment can all impact wear patterns. Age affects usefulness and value. Teeth can wear down at different
rates, so usually you will say an animal’s mouth appears to be ? Years old, rather than saying the animal is ?
Years old.
Temporary Teeth – small, white, oval shaped, wider side to side than front to rear.
Permanent Teeth – yellow, larger than temporaries, with a general round surface
Equine Dentition

Young horses have a total 24 deciduous or milk teeth - 12 incisors and 12 premolars or grinders.
Mature male horses have 40-42 permanent teeth and mares have 36-40 depending on the number of
canine teeth present Table 1. Canine or bridle teeth erupt in the inter dental space at 4-5 years of age
in male horses. They will only appear 20-25% of the time in mares and are usually smaller than those
found in males. The first premolar (wolf-tooth) may be absent or rudimentary. In most horses it is
only present in the maxillary (upper) jaw.

At approximately 5 years of age and when all permanent teeth have erupted, thehorse is said to have a
"full mouth". Continued growth and wear of the incisor teeth results in changes of shape and
appearance that allow them to be useful in age determination.

Incisors
Lower Upper
Central Intermediate Corner Central Intermediate Corner
Age (Yrs.) 6 7 8 9 10 11-12

Table. Disappearance of cups from incisor teeth

At 11 or 12 years of age when cups are absent from all lower and upper incisors thehorse is said to be
"smooth-mouthed".
With practice, one can become proficient when estimating ages between 6 and 12 years by using the
presence or absence of the cups in the incisors. When the horse is older than 12 years, it is difficult to
estimate age of the horse and accuracy decreases.

To age an older horse the following should be used.

(1) Incisive Arcade: The angle formed between lower and upper incisors becomesmore acute with age.

(2) Table Surface Shape: As age advances the surface changes from rectangular totriangular in shape.

(3) Galvayne's Groove on Upper Corner Incisors:

Figure . Profile of upper corner incisor, incisive arcade, and Galvayne'sgroove

a. At 9 to 10 years - Galvayne’s groove appears at gum margin.

b. At 15 years - Groove is half-way down labial surface of incisor.
c. At 20 years - Groove extends entire length of labial surface of incisor.
d. At 25 years - Groove disappears from upper 1/2 of tooth.

e. At 30 years - Groove disappears completely from the tooth.

To examine the teeth, check the incisive arcade, number of temporary and permanent teeth, and
presence or absence of Galvayne's groove. Keep in mind that age determination is only an estimate as
environmental factors can influence incisor wear. Horses on soft feeds may appear younger than their
actual age. Those on sandy soil pastures or range conditions may appear older because such
conditions tend to wear teeth at a faster rate.

Equine Dental Conditions:

 Dental Caps: Retained deciduous teeth after the permanent tooth has erupted:clearly seen after
full eruption.
 Wolf Teeth: Found usually in upper arcade in front of 2nd premolar. Ofteninterfere
with bit.
 Parrot Mouth: A congenital condition in which the upper jaw is longer than the lower jaw.
Floating – Filing off sharp edges of a horse’s teeth with a rasp-like instrument.

Bishoping- practice of artificially drilling, burning or staining cups in teeth of older horses.
– Makes them appear younger

Cats and dogs will have all of their adult teeth by 6 months of age.
• After adult teeth have erupted
• it is very difficult to tell age
• due to variations in bacterial growth and breed differences.