Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

How come cats and dogs always have perfectly straight teeth?

Options
  • 13-01-2010 3:25pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,957 ✭✭✭


    I was wondering this the other day.
    A pretty significant amount of us have crooked teeth.
    Undercrowding, overcrowding... I didn't even HAVE adult teeth til I was 17 and at that I had to have 4 baby teeth removed!!!

    Why is it that cats and dogs always have perfect straight teeth? Come to think of it so do horses, apes, dolphins.

    I was thinking that maybe it's because we are not exposed to natural selection like animals are, so it doesn't matter if we have straight teeth or not- we won't starve either way. However, the same could be said for our pets.

    Anyone shed any light?


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭peasant


    The answer is ...they don't

    The ratio of crooked teeth may not be as high as in humans, but I have seen quite a few dogs with crooked teeth


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,634 ✭✭✭TooManyDogs


    I was just thinking you must be very lucky to have dogs with perfect teeth, half of my dogs' teeth are all over the place!!! Over crowding doesn't begin to describe it!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 190 ✭✭Dublin141


    I used to have a dog with a severe underbite - people always thought there was something wrong with him :mad:

    One of my dogs now has pretty crooked teeth. I keep getting a fright and thinking her tooth has fallen out but really it's just very crooked.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 259 ✭✭Ruby Soho


    I have a dog with a serious overbite, common enough in greyhounds, as they are not really bred to conform to any cosmetic standards, rather for performance and speed.
    Worse still, she has had the middle few incisors extracted, and now looks like a canine Nosferatu...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 165 ✭✭YOURFACE!


    Our Monty has a little underbite, its so cute. Other than that he has an excellent set of pearly white nashers and so does Kula. I'm fostering a little Staffie at the mo and she does have a few that are a bit wonky. I've seen horses with teeth all over the place too.
    With a good diet from an early age and regular brushing I think animals would have a greater chance of having better teeth. Unlike humans, we eat sugary foods, suck our fingers or fall over and break our teeth. All of which would probably have an impact on the straightness.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,429 ✭✭✭✭star-pants


    Haha, yeah my little Daisy has an underbite, we make fun it's rather cute.


Advertisement