Search puppy teething and you get a wall of dates: baby teeth in at three weeks, out at twelve, adult set complete by seven months. That timeline is genuinely useful, but it is also the part of teething that mostly takes care of itself. The overwhelming majority of puppies grow and shed all 28 baby teeth so quietly that their owners never see a single one come out. So while it is worth knowing the map, do not mistake it for the destination. The things that actually deserve your attention during teething are three specific problems that break from the normal pattern, and one of them you can catch yourself with a ten-second habit. Here is the timeline as a reference, and then the part that matters.
The map: what normal teething looks like
Over a lifetime a dog grows two full sets of teeth: 28 deciduous (baby) teeth and 42 adult teeth. Timing varies by dog, but the general pattern holds. Baby teeth first appear around three to four weeks and fill in to a complete set of 28 by six to eight weeks. Around 12 weeks they begin falling out, and most puppies have their full adult set by five to seven months.
Tooth by tooth, the sequence runs like this:
- Incisors (the small front teeth for nibbling and grooming): baby ones erupt at 4 to 6 weeks and fall out at 12 to 16 weeks; adults come in at 4 to 5 months.
- Canines (the sharp fangs for tearing and holding): baby ones erupt at 3 to 4 weeks and fall out at 4 to 5 months; adults come in at 5 to 6 months.
- Premolars (behind the canines, for shearing): baby ones erupt at 4 to 6 weeks and fall out around 6 months; adults come in at 4 to 7 months.
- Molars (the big grinders at the back): there are no baby molars, so these only appear as adults, at 4 to 7 months. Because they are the largest, this is often when owners notice a puppy deliberately shifting objects to the back of the mouth to chew and ease the pressure.
The whole process, from first baby canine to last adult molar, can stretch across seven to eight months. Common, unremarkable signs your puppy is in it: extra chewing, red or inflamed gums, drooling, slow and careful chewing, an occasional missing tooth, and some lethargy. And yes, they swallow most of the teeth they lose, which is completely harmless. If a teething puppy ever seems truly sick, with real pain, appetite loss, or vomiting, set the teeth aside; that is a sign of something else and a reason to call your vet.
That is the easy part. Now the three things that actually go wrong.
Problem one: the retained baby tooth (the one you can catch)
This is the most common teething problem, and the reason to build one small habit. Sometimes a puppy gets all their baby teeth in fine, but one refuses to leave when the adult tooth arrives. A retained baby tooth crowds the incoming permanent tooth, which can push it into a bad position and throw off the whole bite. Left alone, it can mean lasting misalignment and food-trapping crevices that breed dental disease for life.
It happens most often with the canines, and it is genuinely easy to spot if you look. So look. Lift your puppy’s lip once a week and check the canines. If you ever see an adult canine erupting while the baby canine is still sitting right next to it, that is a retained tooth. Call your vet; these are usually extracted so the adult tooth can settle into place. This one weekly glance is the single highest-value thing in this entire article.
Problem two: the broken baby tooth (don’t shrug it off)
The instinct when a baby tooth cracks is understandable and wrong: it’s going to fall out anyway. The catch is that puppy tooth roots are long, so a fractured baby tooth often leaves the root exposed, which opens a direct path to infection and real, ongoing pain, in a mouth that is still growing. If your puppy breaks a tooth, baby or adult, treat it as worth a vet visit. Your vet may recommend dental X-rays to see how far the damage goes, because what is visible above the gum rarely tells the whole story.
Problem three: delayed eruption (the quiet one)
Most puppies erupt teeth like clockwork, but occasionally a tooth runs late, often because dense gum tissue is covering it and blocking its path. Delayed eruption can lead to abnormal gum tissue where the tooth is trying to emerge, or even a fluid-filled cyst that can damage the developing tooth. It is more common in small and toy breeds, which matters because those breeds already carry higher dental risk (more on that below). If a tooth seems conspicuously absent well past its window, mention it at your next visit rather than assuming it will sort itself out.
The through-line: small breeds are playing on hard mode
All three problems hit small and toy breeds harder, and recent research explains why it is worth taking seriously. Large-scale studies confirm that small-breed dogs are significantly more prone to periodontal disease than larger breeds, in part because a full set of adult teeth is crowded into a tiny jaw. That crowding makes retained baby teeth and misalignment more consequential, not less. If you have a toy or small-breed puppy, the weekly canine check and an early brushing routine are not optional niceties; they are the front line of that dog’s dental health.
Setting up a lifetime of healthy teeth
Dogs use their teeth for eating, grooming, playing, and exploring, so what you build during teething tends to stick. A few habits do most of the work:
- Get them used to mouth handling now. Touch the ears, hold the paws, open the mouth, while the whole idea is still novel. It makes every future vet visit and home cleaning easier.
- Start brushing early. Use a dog-specific (or soft) toothbrush and dog-specific toothpaste, never human toothpaste, which is toxic to dogs. Veterinary dentists consistently name at-home brushing the single most effective thing owners can do between professional cleanings, and puppyhood is by far the easiest time to build the habit. Daily is ideal; a few times a week still helps a lot.
- Keep up with checkups and professional cleanings. Regular vet visits catch trouble early, and cleanings under anesthesia remove the plaque and tartar brushing misses, and are the right moment to address any problem tooth.
- Offer only chews that flex. A dog’s enamel is about six times thinner than human enamel, and paired with a strong bite that puts their teeth at real risk. The rule: if you would not want to bite down on it yourself, neither should your dog. Skip antlers, bones, sticks, and stones in favor of rubber, rope, or soft chew toys that give instead of cracking a tooth.
- Feed for the life stage. Growing puppies need the right nutrients to build strong bone and teeth, so match the food to their stage.
“Owners tend to think baby teeth don’t count because they’re temporary,” says Dr. Mara Chen, a Pet Times veterinarian. “But the timeline isn’t where I want their attention. I want them lifting the lip once a week to check those canines. Catch a retained tooth early and it’s a simple fix. Miss it, and you can be looking at a crooked adult bite and years of dental problems that all traced back to one baby tooth that never left.”
The bottom line
Learn the timeline, then let it fade into the background, because for most puppies it runs itself. Put your real attention on the three things that break from the pattern: the retained tooth you can catch with a weekly lip-lift, the broken tooth you should never wave off, and the delayed tooth worth flagging, all of them more serious in small breeds. Pair that vigilance with early brushing and safe, flexible chews, and you set your puppy’s mouth up not just to survive teething, but to stay healthy for the fourteen years after it.
References
- “Tooth Eruption and Exfoliation in Dogs and Cats.” Today’s Veterinary Practice. https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/dentistry/tooth-eruption-and-exfoliation-in-dogs-and-cats/
- O’Neill, D. G., et al. “Periodontal Disease in Dogs Under Primary Veterinary Care in the UK: Frequency and Risk Factors.” Scientific Reports / VetCompass, 2021. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-98341-w
- American Veterinary Dental College. “Dental Development of Dogs.” https://avdc.org/
