Animal Teeth!

Welcome back!

Your teacher told me that February is Dental Health month in First Grade.

You learned a lot about teeth this month. Strong teeth are very, very important for people and animals. Keeping them clean is an important part of keeping them healthy. Eating properly is also an important part of keeping teeth healthy and strong.

Matt used to work at Timpanogos Animal Hospital in Pleasant Grove. He used to help the techs. One of the things he got to help with was cleaning dog's teeth.

Did you know that it's important to clean your dog's teeth? Most people don't like to brush their dog's teeth because dogs hate it! We use a special treat that cleans the dog's teeth called Dentastix.

Dentists like to clean people's teeth twice a year. Dogs should get their teeth cleaned once a year.

This dog has dirty teeth. Some of his teeth are infected and broken. Dogs don't take good care of their teeth. Do you see all the yellow stuff near the dog's gums? He also has a broken tooth on his top jaw near the red plastic tie.

Are you wondering what the tube is? It goes down his throat towards his lungs and carries a special gas that keeps the dog asleep. Dogs don't like getting their teeth cleaned. People can sit in a chair and have a hygienist clean their teeth, but a dog won't do that.

Here is the other side of his mouth. Can you see the teeth that are flat towards the back of his mouth? They shouldn't be flat. Sometimes dogs chew on rocks. If one tooth breaks other teeth wear down. All the brown and yellow need to be polished off his teeth.

All clean! Can you see the spot on the right side of the photo that is missing teeth? How many teeth are missing? Check the photo right before this one.
If you look closely you can see stitches where the teeth used to be.
Those teeth were infected and needed to come out.

All clean on this side, too!

The next thing that happens is that the tube comes out of his mouth and then the put the dog someplace comfortable while he wakes up.

Here are Mile's teeth.
He's such a good dog to let us hold his mouth open so you can see his teeth!

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Misty has all her adult teeth.
Misty's teeth look different from Miles teeth.
What is different?

Miles's teeth are pointy because dogs eat meat and dog kibbles. He needs sharp teeth to chew.
Miles has teeth on the top and bottom of his mouth so he can chew his food properly.

Misty has flat teeth because she eats grain, grass, and hay. Sharp teeth wouldn't chew hay very well.
Goats, sheep, llamas, and cows only have teeth on the bottom of their mouth in the front. They have top and bottom teeth in the back of their mouth. Bottom teeth help them graze and eat hay easily. They don't chew it right away, they just bite it and swallow it. They chew it later. I'll post about how they 'chew their cud' another time.

This is Penny. We gave her to some friends so you won't see many pictures of her.
She is 1 year old in this photo. She has her "1 year old teeth" in the center.
Every year she will loose two teeth. The first two new teeth are the center teeth.
Next she will loose the two teeth on either side.
She will loose two teeth each year until she has all adult teeth in the front of her mouth.
We can tell how old a goat is until they are 4 years old by how many adult teeth they have.

Children have 'baby teeth' that fall out. Adult teeth take the place of baby teeth. You've probably already lost at least one tooth!

Baby goats have 'milk teeth' that fall out. Adult teeth take the place of baby teeth. 

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Guess what? Last week I noticed that the tan turkey was getting bigger, and bigger!
One day when I went out to the barn, this is what I saw!
The tan turkey is a Tom turkey! He's a boy!
What is different between the brown turkey and the two black and white turkeys?

Do you see the new pavers under the gate?
That's because Miles has been naughty!
He dug a big hole under the gate so he could take himself on a walk.
We live near a highway and it's dangerous for dogs to wander around by themselves.
Matt put pavers under the gate so he can't dig under the gate anymore!

What do your parents do to keep you safe?

Have a great week!