Teeth
As with all other dogs, Yorkies have two sets of teeth in their life. The first set of teeth is the 28-piece deciduous teeth (often referred to as "milk teeth", "baby teeth" or "puppy teeth"). The second set is the 42-piece permanent or adult teeth. Sometimes the number of permanent or adult teeth may vary, which is fine as long as they do not cause bad bite. When puppies are born, they have no teeth because milk is the only food they need. The deciduous teeth will grow from the age of 3 to 8 weeks old, in the order of incisors, canine/ fangs and premolars. Yorkie puppies have no molar teeth. Yorkie puppies will start to lose their deciduous or baby teeth when the permanent or adult teeth come in. The permanent or adult grow when the Yorkie puppies are 4 to 8 months old. By around 8 months old, those teeth should fully develop. The permanent or adult teeth will grow in the order of incisors, canine/fangs, premolars and molars. Molar teeth will develop at around 6 to 8 months old.
Yorkies and other small dog breeds may have problems if the deciduous or baby teeth do not fall out as the permanent or adult teeth grow. This is caused by the new teeth not growing right underneath the deciduous teeth. (Usually, a puppy’s body will absorb the roots of puppy teeth.) If the puppy tooth does not yield to the incoming tooth, it should be removed because it can cause a malocclusion or bad bite. Retained teeth can cause tooth decay because food can be easily caught in between the deciduous and permanent teeth. Sometimes the new teeth are forced to grow into an abnormal position and further cause a bad bite. The retained teeth may stay or fall weeks after the new teeth have developed. When necessary, the retained deciduous or baby teeth need to be removed surgically.
Like other small breeds, Yorkies are also prone to severe dental disease. Because they have a small jaw, their teeth can become crowded and may not fall out naturally. This can cause food and plaque to build up, and bacteria can eventually develop on the surface of the teeth, leading to periodontal disease. In addition, the bacteria can spread to other parts of the body and cause heart and kidney problems. The best prevention is regular brushing of the teeth with a toothpaste formulated specifically for dogs. Human toothpaste is not recommended, because it foams easier and may be swallowed. Professional teeth cleaning by a veterinarian may also be required to prevent the development of dental problems.
Read more about this topic: Yorkshire Terrier, Health
Other articles related to "teeth":
... of lower jaw bones and a large number of isolated teeth ... for Richard Estes, to honor his important work on small vertebrates and especially theropod teeth of the Late Cretaceous ... The jaws are slender and rather long, 193 millimeter, but the teeth are small and very finely serrated with five to six denticles per millimeter ...
... pronounced with both the lower and upper teeth ... The teeth themselves are the only constriction "The lips fully open, the teeth clenched and the tongue flat, the air passing between the teeth the sound is intermediate between and " (L M 1996144-145) ...
... pentagonus Cope, 1876 (type) fragmentary dentary with teeth, nomen dubium Formerly referred Species D ... calamarius Cope, 1876 teeth, nomen dubium D ... perangulatus Cope, 1876 teeth, nomen dubium ...
... The upper jaw had a marginal row of small teeth on the maxilla and premaxilla, medium sized fangs on the ectopterygoid and dermopalatine bones, and ... On the lower jaw there were marginal teeth on the dentary, with fangs on the three coronoids and a huge tusk at the symphysial tip of the dentary ... This may have been a kinetic mechanism to dig the marginal teeth more deeply into the prey, to help grip slippery or struggling items ...
... It was a hadrosaur based solely on teeth ... The name is in reference to the method of tooth replacement, in which newly erupting replacement teeth could be in functional use at the same time as older, more worn teeth ... Thus, the number of "sprouting" teeth was doubled in comparison to Monoclonius ("single sprout"), which used only one set of teeth at a time and which Cope named in the same paper ...
Famous quotes containing the word teeth:
“I light matches and put them in my mouth,
and my teeth melt but the greenery hisses on.
I drink blood from my wrists
and the green slips out like a bracelet.
Couldn’t one of my keepers get a lawn mower
and chop it down if I turned inside out for an hour?”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The wisdom of others remains dull till it is writ over with our own blood. We are essentially apart from the world; it bursts into our consciousness only when it sinks its teeth and nails into us.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“These hunt, as they have done
But with claws and teeth grown perfect,
More deadly than they can believe.”
—James Dickey (b. 1923)