Guinea Pig Teeth Anatomy

Because these teeth are continuously growing it is very important that guinea pigs have something to gnaw on to help keep the teeth trim.

Guinea pig teeth anatomy. Sometimes in order to combat the overgrown pointed teeth that are growing in its mouth your guinea pig may start to chatter or grind its teeth to try and wear down the teeth this way. They have an elodont dentition which consists of aradicular hypsodont incisors and cheek teeth. They are usually anything from 1cm to 1 cm long much longer than you might think. Guinea pigs have small ears and eyes a small snout with sensory whiskers each side and no tail.

This results in greater curvature of the cheek teeth. Buccal pad separators are designed to hold the cheeks back aiding examination. The sharp incisors at the front of the mouth are used for cutting food whilst the premolars and molars do all the grinding and chewing. The teeth are open rooted and grow continuously throughout guinea pig s life.

At that time the top incisors were even in length. Understandably they are a lot harder to examine. Fat pads in the cheeks make examination of the molars difficult. Guinea pigs don t have canines but it is normal for them to have a gap between two front teeth called diastema.

When it comes to your guinea pig s molars it is best to let the vet handle any examination unless something is glaringly obvious. 6 upper and 6 lower molars. Pinta s guinea pig pictured below broke a tooth to the gum line may 5 or 6. A guinea pig has two teeth at the top and two at the bottom of their mouths called incisors.

In the guinea pig the growth rate of these aradicular hypsodont teeth may not be equal with the eruption rate. Trimming this tooth to the same length as the tooth beside it will only delay the teeth meeting. They sit far back in your guinea pigs mouth which is often full of food making checking difficult. A guinea pig s teeth are open rooted and grow continuously.

If all is well and your guinea pig is eating normally these front teeth should meet evenly which means the teeth are being naturally worn down every time your pet eats. The enamel is white in color and the front teeth can be sharp. Two pairs of upper and lower incisors in the front are sharp and easy to see. This dynamic changing relationship between the upper and lower teeth can result in malocclusion development.

How to check guinea pig teeth. Vets have special tools and will be able to rinse out your guinea pigs mouth to get a better picture of their oral health. Like most rodents they have two gnawing teeth at the front which continue to grow throughout their life. A guinea pig is a small burrowing rodent that has a compact body.

Guinea pigs have continually growing and erupting teeth. If you see your guinea pig chattering its teeth check to see if its molars have gotten too big and pointy. Guinea pigs have 20 teeth in their mouths which consist of. The first picture shows how the unopposed upper tooth grows down to meet the broken tooth.

2 upper and 2 lower incisors. The severity of malocclusion of the cheek teeth may not be as.