When it comes to our beautiful Samoyed companions we want to make sure that they are as healthy as they can be. This includes every part of our Samoyed, so today, I am writing all about Samoyed teeth!
Dental hygiene is a very important aspect of care for your energetic and lovable Samoyed! Keeping their teeth healthy and clean as well as going through the puppy teething stage can be challenging at times, but don’t worry, this article will give you all the tips and tricks that you need to care for your Samoyed’s teeth!
Do Samoyeds have bad teeth?
Samoyed may have more teeth problems than other breeds due to a gene mutation that has been recently identified in the Samoyed breed. This gene causes issues with forming proper enamel in a Samoyed. This gene called SCL24A4 can cause the teeth to be discolored and result in tooth loss.
When teeth are difficult to keep clean or have genetic issues plaque may start to build up it can lead to swollen gums (gingivitis) and if left untreated will start to cause tooth decay and infection of the gums and teeth. This will likely happen if your Samoyed’s teeth are not being taken care of properly and consistently.
It is important to employ proper dental care for your Samoyed starting at a young age.
Surprising Fact: On average 80% of dogs have some form of dental disease by the time they are 2 years old.
If your dog’s tooth disease progresses far enough it can cause serious damage to your Samoyed’s organs. Untreated dental problems can even shorten your Samoyed’s lifespan by up to 3 years.
What are some common Samoyed teeth problems?
Dental disease is the biggest concern for your Samoyed’s teeth. If your dog has severe enough dental disease it can cause tooth decay, the gums to recede and the teeth to start falling out.
Not only is this painful for your Samoyed it can also have an impact on his heart and other organs.
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Interestingly dogs don’t get cavities, but they still can have quite a bit of plague build up on their teeth.
Samoyed teeth chattering
The most common cause for your Samoyed’s teeth chattering is periodontal disease. This is a painful condition where the gums become inflamed and bacteria eventually deteriorates the teeth, bones and tissue. Chattering can also be caused by sensitive teeth due to a loss of tooth enamel.
Our dogs tend to do their best at hiding any kind of pain they are in until it gets pretty bad, but oral pain can be a big trigger in your dog’s chattering behavior. This could be due to injury or a more serious dental problem.
If this is a new behavior it is always best to take your dog in for a visit with your vet.
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Although dental disease may be the most common reason for your Samoyed’s teeth to be chattering it’s not the only possibility. You will want to be very observant of when your dog is doing it. The context could give you some better clues as to why.
Some dogs may shake, or chatter their teeth when they are feeling anxiety or stress. This might be a coping mechanism for your dog when it is in a new situation or around new people.
If your Samoyed is really high energy (most are) and gets over-excited whenever he knows there is a treat coming or they see you get out their favorite toy this could induce the teeth chattering or grinding.
Samoyed teeth falling out
If your Samoyed puppy is losing its teeth there is no need to worry, but if your Samoyed is older than 1 year and losing teeth this can be cause for major concern!
Your older Samoyed’s teeth falling out is due to periodontal disease. This has happened because the plaque and gingivitis have gotten so severe that your dog’s teeth have started to rot and the gums will release their hold on the rotten teeth.
If you have an Samoyed rescue that has been poorly taken care of chances are it may have a few missing teeth. The best way forward is to get your dog’s teeth cleaned by a vet, then make sure to keep up with routine dental care going forward.
Samoyed broken tooth
Broken teeth can be a common occurrence and can be very uncomfortable for your Samoyed.
If your Samoyed has had any kind of impact to their mouth, either from being hit by something or from running into something it could cause a broken or chipped tooth.
They could also break a tooth by chewing on something too hard. This is why I always tell my student to be careful about what they allow their dogs to chew on. It is recommended that your dog doesn’t chew on hard things like antlers, bones, or other hard and non-bendable items.
Signs your Samoyed has a chipped or cracked tooth.
- Eating on one side of his mouth.
- Not eating hard food.
- Not chewing on his favorite chew toys.
- Swelling in his face or gums.
- Excessive drooling.
- Pawing or itching as his face or mouth.
- Not wanting or letting you touch his face.
Broken or chipped teeth can cause your Samoyed serious pain and problems with an infection later on. It’s important that it is treated as soon as possible to prevent more complications. The severity of the broken or chipped tooth will dictate the course of treatment. Your vet will do an assessment and suggest a course of action.
If it is a surface chip the tooth should be able to be repaired fairly easily. If the root is exposed then your Samoyed will likely need a root canal. Your vet will need to sedate your dog in order to do this safely.
Bad breath in your Samoyed
The most common cause of bad breath (halitosis) in your Samoyed is periodontal disease from tartar buildup because of bad oral hygiene. Bacteria will feed on the build-up of plaque which causes a disgusting sulfur smell. This will grow worse over time if the problem is not addressed.
The best way to get rid of your Samoyed’s nasty-smelling breath is to address their oral hygiene routine.
If the plaque and tartar have built up to a degree that you are not able to remove it yourself by brushing and other tactics (discussed below), you may need to take your dog to the vet for a professional cleaning.
If a cleaning is necessary, your vet will need to give your Samoyed general anesthesia for the procedure so that they can gain easy access to their mouth without the worry of being bitten or having your pup resist.
He or she will then use dental tools relatively similar to the tools that are used on us at the dentist to scale and scrape the plaque from your dog’s teeth. This will also allow them to see if there are any teeth that are loose or rotting and may need to be removed.
This cleaning will help to reduce gingivitis (the swelling on your dog’s gums) as well as the nasty bacteria that cause bad breath.
You will want to be sure to keep a good oral hygiene routine at home afterward to prevent the plaque from returning.
If your Samoyed needs a dental cleaning, this article from the Spruce Pets can help you prepare for and understand what that process entails. Getting a Professional Teeth Cleaning for Your Dog (thesprucepets.com)
Other ways to help reduce Samoyed’s bad breath
There are some foods that can really help out with naturally scraping plaque off our dog’s teeth as well as freshening breath.
Carrots – as your Samoyed chews on the carrots it will work to scrape the plaque off, plus they get the added benefits of the nutrients and fiber that carrots provide as well as their natural ability to help get rid of worms.
Parsley – This is an amazing herb that you can sprinkle on your Samoyed’s dog food. It has a minty fresh smell and has been proven to battle the sulfur compounds that cause bad breath.
Coconut Oil – Rubbing some coconut oil on your dog’s teeth every day is proven to help prevent the buildup of plaque that causes bad breath. Coconut oil has many amazing powers including antimicrobial and antibacterial (It prevents and kills the bad stuff).
Gently rubbing coconut oil on your Samoyed’s teeth each day can be especially helpful if your dog is resistant to getting its teeth brushed.
This can help your dog get used to having his teeth touched as you slowly work to transition to a toothbrush.
You can read more about the benefits of coconut oil from this article on Healthline. Why Coconut Oil Is Good for Your Teeth (healthline.com)
How to keep your Samoyed’s teeth clean
- Start by getting your Samoyed puppy used to having its gums touched and looked over at a young age. When you bring a new puppy home use coconut oil on your finger to rub on your Samoyed’s teeth and gums each day.
It’s best to do this when they are tired or sleepy. Be sure to watch out for nipping and biting that your Samoyed will surely want to do.
Reward your dog with praise and a small treat when it lets you do this process with ease. - Provide your Shetland with lots of chew toys, (affiliate link) not only will this help you keep them from chewing on undesired things in your house, it will help them keep their teeth clean by the scraping motion that they do as they chew.
Specifically, dental chew toys can also be very helpful to remove plaque from your Samoyed’s teeth. - You should start brushing your Samoyed’s teeth around 12 weeks old. It’s important to start a habit of daily brushing (if not daily then at least 2-3 times a week). Using a pet toothbrush like this as well as a good dog toothpaste is important.
- Use a dental powder cleanser like this one on amazon (affiliate link). This is one of the easiest ways to help your Samoyed’s teeth stay clean. You just add it to their water and you are done!
- Make a consistent effort. Taking care of oral hygiene once and a while will not be good enough for your lovable Samoyed companion. You need to make it a daily/weekly habit so that their teeth will not go bad over time.
How to brush your Samoyed’s teeth
Do Samoyeds have good teeth?
Samoyeds can have good and healthy teeth if they are well taken care of. Brushing them daily is important. If your dog’s teeth are white, their gums are pink, and they don’t have smelly breath then your Samoyed‘s teeth are likely healthy.
It’s also important to talk to your breeder to find out if your Samoyeds parents have been tested to make sure they don’t carry the SCL24A4 gene that can cause enamel and teeth formation issues. If your dog doesn’t have that gene mutation then your Samoyed puppy will start out with strong healthy teeth but it’s up to us as owners to keep them clean and healthy.
Taking a look at your Samoyed’s teeth every few weeks will help you to keep on top of the dental hygiene and spot signs of problems early on.
Warning: If your Samoyed is prone to biting or is easily startled seek guidance from your vet or a professional dog trainer before following these steps.
When your dog is calm or sleeping, gently lift the flap of skin on the side of your dog’s mouth in order to inspect their gums.
Never put your hand inside your dog’s mouth, even if your dog is normally calm and doesn’t tend to bite.
You will be looking to make sure that their teeth are white and if there is any brown, grey, or black buildup on their teeth how bad it is and where it is.
You can look at their gums and are wanting to see light pink, any darker pink coloring or red tint can be an indication of gum disease and you will want to schedule a visit with your vet.
Can I whiten my Samoyeds teeth?
The best way to keep your Samoyeds teeth white is to care for their teeth by regular brushing as well as using the other tactics talked about in this article.
If you have been working towards good dental care and need some extra help getting your Samoyeds teeth white try this all-in-one kit that many Samoyed owners have found success in using to keep their Samoyeds teeth sparkling white!
How many teeth do Samoyeds have?
Samoyed puppies are born with no teeth but gain 28 baby teeth by 6-8 weeks of age. An adult Samoyed will have a total of 42 teeth including twelve incisors (for grasping), four canines (for tearing), sixteen premolars, and 8 molars (for grinding).
Samoyed teething timeline
Being a parent of a new Samoyed puppy can produce all sorts of questions from why is my dog constantly licking, to why is my puppy crying all the time. Knowing more about their expected development can help ease some worries and concerns we might have.
If it’s been a while since you have had a puppy or if this is your first experience raising a puppy you may be surprised to know that your puppy’s teeth will fall out. Just like their human counterparts around pre-school age, we start losing our baby teeth, our puppies are going to lose their teeth and grow adult ones as well.
So to help you with this here is a detailed timeline of what you can expect while your puppy is teething.
Please remember that every dog is different so even though this is a good estimate your dog may not follow it exactly.
Newborn: Your puppy will be born with what looks like no teeth at all, but when he reaches 2 to 4 weeks old at the same time his eyes start to open his little baby teeth will start popping through.
Around 6-8 weeks your puppy should have all his baby teeth and will start weening from his mother’s milk while learning to eat soft moist puppy food.
Around 12-16 weeks old as you have recently brought your puppy home and are getting to know them better he will start to lose his baby teeth. It usually starts with the incisors and you will probably notice little rice-sized doggy teeth falling out everywhere.
By 5 months old your puppy will have lost most of their baby teeth and by 6 months old they will have lost all their baby teeth and grown in all their adult teeth.
At 6 months you should have your vet examine your Samoyed teeth to check that all the baby teeth are gone and that the adult teeth have grown in properly.
As your puppy grows you should get your Samoyed used to you gently placing your hand around his mouth and gums. This is the start of socializing your dog and will be helpful to prepare them for getting their teeth brushed and clean.
How to help my teething Samoyed puppy
Luckily the teething puppy stage doesn’t last too long. I know it does feel like it’s going on forever when you are in the thick of it, but it usually gets much better around the time your puppy is 6 months old.
Even though it may be short it can be hard to make it through the puppy teething stage. Having a puppy is a lot of work and it’s best to be as proactive as possible when teaching your puppy and helping them adjust to a new life with your family.
Helping them focus their teething troubles on chewing and biting appropriate things (rather than your furniture or fingers) is part of their puppy training.
You can tell your puppy might be having teething pain or discomfort if you notice them whining a lot, biting and chewing on everything, lots of drooling, and of course, the obvious losing teeth and swollen or tender gums.
The best thing you can do is to offer your puppy a variety of puppy teething toys. Toys that offer different textures, different pressures, or different tastes will help your puppy have variety. This can keep your puppy from getting bored and wanting to chew on things that they shouldn’t (like your brand new shoes)
Offering your pup something cold or frozen can help to numb and dull the teething pain they feel. An easy way to do this is to get a clean cloth a little wet and freeze it. A rope toy could also work well for this.
Safety Tip: Puppy teeth are super sharp! Be sure to monitor your puppy when chewing and take away any toys or items that start to become shredded or break apart. It would be dangerous for your puppy to swallow any small pieces.
Our favorite toys for a teething Samoyed puppy
There is a reason that Kong toys are so popular! Not only are they are super versatile as far as the things that you can put inside the middle, but they are the perfect blend of hard/soft and chewy for a teething puppy.
Try putting a mixture of peanut butter and soft puppy food in the middle and freezing it. Your puppy will love it!
This toy is great for teething. Puppies love the texture of the little rubber nubs against their gums. (affiliate links)
My dog’s favorite thing to chew on is bully sticks! You want to make sure that they do it safely, so be sure to have something to hold the end so that when it gets small they don’t accidentally swallow it and choke on it.
The Samoyed Smile!
A Samoyeds smile is iconic. Those upturned lips are such an endearing feature to this magnificent animal. The cool part about it is that their smile isn’t just there to please us and make them look cute.
Being from such a cold climate genetics have done their part in order to help Samoyed survive the frigid weather. Their upturned lips helps them to avoid slobber, which in turn helps to avoid them forming icicles coming down their chins.
While we strive to give the most accurate and helpful information about your pet’s health that we can, this article is meant to be informational only and not medical advice. Never disregard, avoid or delay in obtaining medical advice from your veterinarian or other qualified veterinary health care provider regardless of what you have read on this site or elsewhere.
