Short answer: Puppies have 28 baby (deciduous) teeth, replaced by 42 adult teeth by around six to seven months; kittens have 26, replaced by 30 by around six months. Teething is the best time to build the habit: a few seconds a day of lip-lifts and toothpaste licks, then a finger brush, in calm sessions of under two minutes. Offer soft, flexible toys rather than bones or hard chews, and show your vet any baby tooth still in place beside its adult replacement.
The teething timeline
Puppies and kittens are born without visible teeth. Their baby teeth come through in the first weeks of life and are then replaced, a few at a time, by the permanent set.
| At a glance | Puppies | Kittens |
|---|---|---|
| Baby (deciduous) teeth | 28 | 26 |
| Adult (permanent) teeth | 42 | 30 |
| Adult set usually complete by | Around six to seven months | Around six months |
| What you may notice | More chewing, a tiny spot of blood on a toy, the occasional baby tooth on the floor. Many are simply swallowed, which is normal. | More chewing and mouthing. Kittens often swallow their baby teeth without anyone noticing. |
The adult teeth that arrive have thin enamel (around 0.1 to 0.6 mm in dogs, a fraction of a millimetre in cats) and live in a mouth whose alkaline saliva lets soft plaque start hardening into tartar within about 48 to 72 hours. That is why the habit matters from the start, not from the first sign of trouble.
Retained baby teeth: what vets look for
Normally, each adult tooth pushes its baby tooth out as it comes through. Sometimes the baby tooth stays put, and for a while there are two teeth where there should be one. Vets call this a retained (or persistent) deciduous tooth. It is often easiest to spot at the canines, the long "fang" teeth, where a slim baby tooth may sit right beside its thicker adult replacement.
This is education rather than a home checklist, but it helps to know what your vet is looking at:
- A baby tooth still in place once the adult tooth has come through beside it.
- Crowding in the gap between the two teeth: a tight corner where food and plaque collect.
- The adult tooth's position. A baby tooth that stays can push the adult tooth out of its normal line.
- The bite: how the upper and lower teeth meet as the jaw grows.
Your vet will decide whether anything needs doing, and when. Never try to wiggle or pull a baby tooth out yourself: its root may still be firmly anchored, and a piece left behind is a job for the vet. If a baby tooth is still there once the adult set should be complete, book a check rather than waiting for the annual visit.
When to see your vet
If you notice loose or wobbly teeth, swelling, discharge, bleeding that does not settle, reluctance to eat, dropping food, drooling, pawing at the mouth or any change in behaviour, please contact your veterinary surgeon promptly. Home care supports professional care — it never replaces it.
Starting the habit
Young animals accept almost anything that is introduced calmly, briefly and with something pleasant attached. Gums can be tender while teeth are changing, so this is a time for gentle handling, not a full clean.
Lick and go
A pea-sized smear of pet toothpaste on your fingertip, licked off, then a quick rub along the outside of the front teeth. Seconds, then a reward.
Touch and lift
Stroke the muzzle and lift the upper lip on each side for two or three seconds. This is the start of a weekly look that lasts a lifetime.
Finger brush
A soft finger brush or textured wipe along the outer surfaces at the gumline, a few teeth at a time, working back as your pet relaxes.
Under two minutes
Keep every session under two minutes (for kittens, seconds rather than minutes) and stop before your pet objects. Once the adult teeth are in, move to a small, soft brush.
Use a toothpaste made for the species and safe to swallow: a dog toothpaste for puppies and, for kittens, one labelled for cats and free of essential oils, phenols and xylitol. Same time, same place, every day. Our 14-day method for dogs and gentle 21-day method for cats take it from here.
Safe chewing for teething
Teething puppies chew because they need to. Your job is to give that urge somewhere safe to go.
- Soft and flexible. Rubber or rope teething toys that bend and give. Use the fingernail test: if you cannot dent it with a fingernail, it is too hard for a young mouth.
- The right size. Too big to be swallowed whole, small enough to hold comfortably.
- Supervised. No toy is indestructible. Check toys often and replace any that are splitting or shedding pieces.
- Swapped, not scolded. When your puppy chews something they should not, offer a toy instead and praise them for taking it.
Kittens need less: soft toys and play are enough, and hard chews are not for cats at any age.
What not to give
| Avoid | Why |
|---|---|
| Human toothpaste | It is made to be spat out and may contain fluoride, foaming agents or xylitol. Young pets swallow everything on the brush. |
| Anything containing xylitol (sometimes called birch sugar) | Xylitol is toxic to dogs and can cause a dangerous fall in blood sugar and liver damage. Check sugar-free gum, sweets and foods made for people. Every Petdentist® product is xylitol-free. |
| Cooked bones | Cooking makes bone brittle. It can splinter, and it can break teeth. |
| Antlers, hooves, hard nylon bones and other rock-hard chews | They fail the fingernail test and can fracture teeth, baby or adult. |
| Essential oils, phenols and dog-only products (kittens) | Cats have very limited ability to process tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus and clove oils, or phenols. Use products labelled for cats. |
| String, thread, ribbon or hair bands as unsupervised toys | They can be swallowed or caught around the tongue. If you ever see string in your pet's mouth, do not pull it: see your vet. |
Most puppies and kittens need nothing more than good food, safe toys and the start of a cleaning habit. Before adding a dental powder, probiotic or water additive, check the pack for age guidance and ask your vet.
The first veterinary dental check
Your puppy or kitten is likely to see the vet several times in the first months. Ask for a look in the mouth at each visit, and book a dedicated dental check once the adult teeth should all be through: around six to seven months for puppies, six months for kittens. At that check, your vet will typically look at:
- whether all the adult teeth are present, and whether any baby teeth remain;
- how the teeth meet, now that the jaw has grown;
- the gums, and the line where they meet the teeth;
- any broken or discoloured teeth, often the price of enthusiastic chewing.
Take along anything you have noticed, and ask how often your vet would like to see your pet's mouth from now on. Small breeds, and short-muzzled breeds whose 42 teeth sit in a much shorter jaw, may need a closer eye.
The one thing to do this week
Three seconds a day, for seven days
At the same calm moment each day, lift your puppy's or kitten's upper lip on each side for three seconds, offer a lick of their toothpaste from your fingertip, and reward. Nothing more. By the end of the week many young pets come looking for it, and next week's finger brush is simple.