Dental diseases are among the top reasons for guinea pig veterinary visits. Guinea pig teeth form an important part of the guinea pig’s anatomy.
Although it’s hard to check your guinea pigs’ oral cavity on regular basis, knowing the main symptoms of guinea pig teeth problems is especially important for their health and wellness.
Guinea pigs have unique oral anatomy characterized by teeth that are continuously growing.
In this guide, we will discuss everything you need to know about guinea pig teeth.
Guinea Pig Teeth – The Basics
Guinea pigs have a total of 20 teeth. In the front, they have a set of two very long, and curved open-rooted incisors on the maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw). Their color is white because of the outer layer of the teeth called enamel. This layer is thinner near the tongue which contributes to constant sharpening. The white enamel isn’t found on the teeth of other rodents.
The rest of the teeth count is completed with 4 premolars and 12 molars.
Although different in few segments, they cannot be easily distinguished with a naked eye and are grouped as one functional united – cheek teeth. The surface of the cheek teeth in guinea pigs is flat.
Since guinea pigs are herbivores, they have a big gap between the incisors and the cheek teeth. The gap is called diastema and it’s the space normally occupied with canine teeth in other animal species and humans as well.
Another name for ever-growing teeth is elodont teeth. Guinea pig teeth grow throughout the animal’s life by approximately 0.5 to 1 cm per month.
The maxillary teeth grow at a slower pace than the mandibular ones. Constant growth has to be compensated with constant wear-off and any interference in the process will result in dental disease.
Overgrown Guinea Pig Teeth
Most owners can only catch a glimpse of the incisive teeth which can be pretty long. These pearly whites can grow up to a centimeter and a half. It’s completely normal if the incisive teeth look a bit longer than one may expect.
Bottom line is – if the guinea pig is eating and acting normally and the bottom and top incisors are equal or similar in length then your pet’s teeth are probably not overgrown.
The cheek teeth are harder to visualize, even for a trained eye. They are positioned in the back of your guinea pigs’ mouth which is always filled with food making an amateur examination impossible.
That’s why it’s best if you let a vet take a look at the premolars and the molars and determine whether they are in good condition.
Although all of the teeth can overgrow at the same time, it’s a more common issue only for the front teeth.
Besides the obvious symptoms of dental disease, you can tell the teeth a