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Introduction to Puppy Teeth:

Puppies should have twentyeight(28) temperary teeth that erupt at about three(3)to four(4) weeks of age.  They will eventually have fourtytwo(42)permanent teeth that begin to emerge at about three(3) to four(4) months of age.  Puppies have fourteen(14) upper and fourteen(14) lower teeth.

There are four(4) types of teeth with different functions:

Incisors:  Used for cutting and nibbling food.  Incisors are the front teeth situated directly in-between the canines.  In adults and puppies, there are six upper and six lower.  These are the front teeth and all six upper and six lower are in a row.  The center two(2) are somewhat smaller and the incisor teeth get larger as you move away from the center.

Canine Teeth:  Used to hold and tear food.  The canines are the large fangs.   The lower canines lock in position in front of the upper canines.  The canines are situated directly between the incisors and the premolars.  In adults and puppies, there are exactly two(2) upper and two(2) lower canines.  There is one on each side of the upper jaw and one on each side of the lower jaw.

Premolars:  Used for cutting, holding and shearing food.  The premolars are positioned behind the canines and infront of the molars.  Puppies do not have all their permolars, but when adult teeth come in, there will be eight(8) premolars on the top and eight(8) premolars on the bottom.  Four(4) premolars are on each side of the upper jaw and four(4) premolars are on each side of the lower jaw in adults.

Molars:  Used to grind food.  The molars are positioned behind the premolars and are the last teeth in the back of the jaw.  There are four(4) molars on the top, two(2) on each side, and six(6) molars on the bottom, three(3) on each side.  Puppies do not have molars.

Above, you can see the Incisors labeled labeled "I," 1,2,3.  Each tooth is identified by the upper or lower jaw and distinguished between left and right sides.  The teeth labeled "C" are the Canines.  The large gaps between the teeth on this nine(9) week old puppy are normal, the gaps get larger as the puppy grows, prior to the adult teeth coming in.  Puppy teeth are tiny and its not hard to tell the differene beween them and adult teeth.

In this picture, you see half of the lower jaw.  Its nearly impossible to take a picture of the entire lower jaw showing all the teeth at the same time because the tongue and lips naturally cover the teeth.  The P1's and P2's are the hardest of all the teeth to show.  Puppies do not have P1's, so there are not any in the picture.  The P1's will be coming up in the gap you see, in-between the teeth that are labeled "Canine" and "P2."  If you count the three(3) back teeth, you can see, the Premolars, add the ones on the other side, thats six(6), add the two(2) Canines, thats eight(8), and finally the six(6) Incisors, thats fourteen(14) on the bottom.

This photo actually shows newly erupted adult teeth still in transition, and one extra Incisor tooth.  The Canines are marked with a "C" and at this point the puppy Canines are side by side with the adult Canines which are still coming in.  All of the large teeth in-between the Canines are adult Incisors.  See how much larger the adult teeth are and the gaps are closed.  I am pointing out the difference in size, because people get confused when they see an extra adult tooth.  They think that is must be a puppy tooth that has not fallen out, but visually, you can see that the difference in size is enormous.  Thus, any additional teeth in the mouth of this dog are extra adult teeth and a decision must be carefully made, and quickly, as to whether or not the extra teeth should be pulled.  Extra teeth left in the mouth, especially Incisors, can throw a bite off and render the dog as pet quality and show disqualified.

INTRODUCTION TO ADULT TEETH:

Adults should have 42 permanent teeth in number, 20 upper and 22 lower.  The teeth should be strong, correctly placed, and meeting in a scissors bite.  The lower incisors should touch the inside of the upper incisors.

The adult canine teeth of Siberian Huskies are essential  to be allowed to show and breed.  Do not make the mistake of walking into a show ring without counting your dog's teeth and checking your dog's bite first.

A puppy's bottom jaw will continue to grow until they are approximately nine(9) months old, which means the bite is in transition until nine(9) to eleven(11) months old.  It should also be noted that the top jaw is also in transition and growing during this period.  The bite can go either way, from scissors to underbite or from scissors to overbite, or the most common is from scissors to level bite.

This shows what you can expect to see in your own puppy's mouth.  There are large gaps between the teeth at this point, which should not be cause  for alarm, yet.  If you see gaps like this in an adult's mouth, you probably have missing teeth.  In the picture,  if you count the three(3) back teeth you can see on each side, the Premolars, thats, six(6), then add the two(2) Canines, thats eight(8), and then add the six(6) Incisors, thats a total of fourteen(14) teeth on the top.

Puppies should loose a tooth before the corresponding adult tooth emerges, but many times you will see both the puppy tooth and the adult tooth side by side.  This is especially true of the Canines (commonly called the fangs).  If a puppy tooth is still in place when an adult tooth begins to show and it shows no signs of looseness, see your veterinarian to decide if the puppy tooth needs to be pulled, so the dog's occlusion is not affected.

This photo shows newly erupted adult teeth still in transition, and two(2) extra adult Incisor teeth on the bottom which have pushed the bottom Incisors forward and out almost out of alignment for a scissor bite.  It is vitally important to keep a close eye on your puppy's teeth watching for abnormalities.

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AKC STANDARD:  Teeth closing in a scissors bite. 

FAULT:  Any bite other than a scissors.

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The picture shows  an underbite which is much less common than the overbite and level bite.  Underbites are a disqualifying fault and should not be used in a breeders breeding program.  The teeth do not mesh the upper and lower together properly and can interfere with the dog's ability to eat properly, which can affect the dog's health.

This picture shows a level bite, which should not be used for breeding or showing - it is a disqualifying fault in the show ring.  A level bite is often heavily penalized by judges and not desirable.  Sometimes, older dogs have level bites, that show up later in life.  Sometimes these bites can be caused by excessive chewing or tugging on the jaw.

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