Facts About Sheep’s Teeth

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 51, 1 June 1948, Page 6

Facts About Sheep’s Teeth

A short “solid” mouth of teeth in a sheep indicates that a serviceable unerupted portion of the teeth lies below the gum, and such a mouth is naturally better than one with longer but “open” teeth. “Opening up” of mouths is not caused by growth and spreading of the jaw, but is a normal process in the development and wear of teeth. It results from the tapered shape of the teeth and their setting in the slanted sockets in the lower jaw. The first two permanent incisors appear when sheep are about 1£ years old. They are not like human teeth, which erupt completely, bringing level with the gum the junction of the enamel (the hard outer layer) with the root; nor do they resemble rats’ teeth, which grow continually and widen as the animal grows older. Sheep have long, curved, tapering teeth, the enamel-covered crown being about one inch in length, the root about half an inch. When first erupted, about one-half of the crown is above the gum, the remainder (leading down to the root) being hidden. As the sheep grows, the tooth is “paid up” and when the animal is about four years old the tooth is fully erupted.