How Many Teeth Do Guinea Pigs Have? 2 Main Dental Issues

How many teeth do guinea pigs have? Generally speaking, guinea pigs have twenty teeth. But it’s funny that only four are visible to you.

This includes lower and upper incisors, lower and upper premolars, and three pairs of lower and upper molars. Guinea pigs do not have canine teeth, leaving a small gap in their supposed area.

Unlike most rodents, the teeth of guinea pigs are typically white – not yellow. Besides, their teeth are not overly curved or long.

Also, take note that your guinea pigs should not exhibit any sign of hesitation or pain as they eat. 

Otherwise, they may be suffering from some dental issues.

How Many Teeth Do Guinea Pigs Have?

As stated earlier, guinea pigs normally possess twenty teeth and only two of them are visible to you.

In addition, the teeth of guinea pigs are unique since they do not stop growing.

If you leave their teeth unchecked, especially the front teeth, they will elongate continually. This is comparable to your nails; they will have to grow and grow. 

As such, your pet must have a means of keeping the reasonable length of their teeth. In my case, I provide Ginger with chew toys to wear down her teeth.

What’s amazing about this playball that I bought for her is that it’s versatile; it can also be used for other pets such as rabbits.

Anyway, taking care of our pets’ overall heaths and welfare is a crucial part of being a responsible pet owner.

Dental care is only one aspect that we need to pay attention to so that we could avoid issues and high vet bills. Many guinea pig owners are not aware of their responsibility in taking care of their pet’s teeth.

So to know more about guinea pigs’ care, particularly about their teeth, keep on reading until the end of this post as we will be providing you with the necessary details you need to know. 

How Many Teeth Does a Newborn Guinea Pig Have?

.Guinea pigs have a full set of teeth even when they are born which are ready to serve. 

However, these need to be taken care of as once lost they will not grow back.

Appropriate Length Of Guinea Pig’s Teeth

Since guinea pigs are obligate or plant-eaters only, they do not have canines. Instead, they have sharp enough incisors that can quickly crunch anything or gnaw through wood. Their remaining teeth are hardly seen.

Why so?

They are located at the back of the mouth or in the cheeks. 

The length of your guinea pig’s teeth should only range from 1/3 up to ½ inch long. They should also meet tidily without overlap or gap.

But since guinea pig’s teeth never stop growing, you should keep an eye on them to prevent overgrowth. Inappropriate growth of their teeth can be a risk as it can cause an array of issues.

How To Keep Their Teeth In Check?

If your pets refuse to eat or seem uncomfortable or in pain as they eat, this might be due to an underlying dental issue.

Since guinea pigs cannot communicate, we need to keep them in check if they feel something wrong.

We, as pet owners, should pay attention to the subtle signs.

If your little furry friend has abscesses, cuts, sores, or if he is unable to eat, these are some of the signs that its teeth have gotten too long.

In such a case, they should be subjected to professional care. This is to ensure that there is no particular problem that arises.

Also, they would be able to receive proper treatment regarding the dental issues that they are experiencing.

As we all might have known, guinea pigs love to chew. This trait helps them to prevent overgrowing their teeth. But still, you need to help them with this.

For instance, you can provide them with some chew items which are recommended for guinea pigs to chew on, such as untreated wooden blocks.

This can keep them occupied, but importantly, it will help them keep their white teeth healthy.

Grinding, chewing, and biting are effective ways of wearing down and maintaining guinea pig’s teeth’ healthy length.

Although the optimal teeth vary among guinea pigs, it is still important to keep their cage stocked with chewable that will help their teeth stay healthy.

Broken Teeth 

As mentioned earlier, guinea pigs have pearly white teeth. But if your pet’s teeth are rather yellow, then it must be lacking in vitamin C.

The deficiency of this vitamin is primarily the reason why guinea pigs’ teeth break. And since they all got twenty teeth, it only means that they need a substantial amount of vitamin C.

That is because vitamin C is important in growing teeth and bones. Also, take note that guinea pigs cannot produce vitamin C on their own, unlike humans, so they can be at risk. 

Now, if you are wondering whether they can grow their teeth back after being broken, yes, guinea pigs’ teeth grow back.

If they happen to break their teeth, you have to provide them with a lot of vitamin C to prevent any possible risk.

But of course, losing a tooth can be painful and distressing for them. So in as much as possible, this process must be avoided, though it is inevitable. 

Malocclusion 

Malocclusion can become a serious risk among guinea pigs. This means that your little furry friend experiences a misaligned jaw and teeth.

Try imagining this; it looks uncomfortable, right?

In worst cases, the roots of their teeth might begin to grow into their jaws.

This condition is proven to be fatal if you fail to provide proper treatment. That is because it can cause infections, sores, and other issues in their mouth. 

In order to avoid this or to provide prompt treatment as early as possible, you should be aware of the signs of malocclusion among guinea pigs.

These signs include nose or eye discharge, weight loss since it would be painful for them to eat, and drool around the chin or mouth.

If they are chewing only on one side of the mouth, it can also be a sign that their teeth are not properly aligned. They might as well just open their mouth perpetually in order to relieve stress in their jaw. 

In some cases, they would pick up the food to eat, but they will eventually drop it because they might have trouble biting the food or not chewing them.

Some pet owners think that their guinea pig is not hungry when actually they have discomfort eating.

If you notice those signs or if you strongly believe that your pet has developed a malocclusion, it is best that you instantly bring him to the professional. 

Conclusion

How many teeth do guinea pigs have? They have 20 teeth (if we’re talking about adult guinea pigs).

What’s amazing about these teeth is that they’ll continually grow during their lifetime. Much more, it is also of the same importance to wear down their teeth, especially those four elongated teeth that are visible to you.

Guinea pig’s teeth never stop growing so you need to provide them with some chew toys to chew on to wear them down.

And if you do not keep them in check, they can develop some serious health issues. Remember that dental care is essential when taking care of a guinea pig. As discussed earlier in this post, you must keep watch of some signs to avoid issues.

We hope the information from this article will help you take better care of your guinea pig. Thank you for reading!