Your Dog's Mouth and Teeth
A dog's mouth is much like your own. Dogs have lips and cheeks, a slurpy tongue, four pairs of salivary glands, a larynx and pharynx, and an epiglottis. The lips, of course, are where food enters the mouth. The tongue is a multipurpose organ that responds to taste and sensation and plays a role in cooling the dog's body (panting).
The salivary glands produce saliva, which is transported to the mouth by means of tiny drainage tubes. Saliva starts the digestive process by moistening food so the body can break it down, and it produces enzymes that help rid the mouth of harmful bacteria. When dogs pant, the saliva on the surface of the tongue evaporates, providing a cooling effect.
The larynx gives voice to your dog's barks and howls and is the entrance to the respiratory system. Both air and food pass through the muscular tube that is the pharynx. It helps propel food into the esophagus and ensures that food doesn't go down the wrong way. The epiglottis is a thin flap of flexible cartilage that prevents food from entering the respiratory tract.
Let's not forget the teeth. Besides the lolling tongue, the teeth are probably the first thing you notice about a dog's mouth. Puppies are born toothless. The 28 baby (deciduous) teeth start erupting when they're two or three weeks old. Puppies start losing their baby teeth at about three months old and usually have all their adult teeth by four to seven months of age.
Eight pairs of muscles and five pairs of nerves control the tongue's movements. The canine tongue responds to three flavors — salty, sweet, and sour. The bumpy projections on the surface of the tongue are called papillae. Black spots on the tongue are common and don't have any medical or other significance.
Adult dogs have 42 teeth: 12 incisors, four canines, 16 premolars, and 10 molars. That's 22 in the lower jaw and 20 in the upper jaw. These teeth fit pretty well into the mouth of a medium-size or larger dog, but small dogs often have dental problems because all 42 teeth are crammed into such a tiny mouth. And some short-faced breeds, such as pugs or bulldogs, may have fewer teeth because there's no room in their mouth for the last molars.
Some breeds, such as Doberman pinschers, carry a mutation for missing teeth, and some spaniels and hounds may develop extra teeth. These extra teeth should be pulled so they don't crowd, twist, or overlap the normal teeth.
