Picking a healthy 3-week Malshi puppy: How to spot an overbite?

An overbite could cause serious damage to the hard palate if the malocclusion is severe and the bottom teeth cause damage to the top of the mouth. Sometimes deciduous and adult baby teeth need to be extracted with an overbite, and sometimes certain types of physical therapy can help the adult teeth grow in appropriately so that they don't require extraction. If you would be unable or unwilling to invest in dental care, including potential advanced dental care with a specialist you may want to look for another puppy since it would be very difficult to know the extent of the dental issues without having a vet examine the pup.

Some smaller breeds may have delayed eruption of thier baby teeth but typically by 9 weeks canines should be visible. In rare cases this may require veterinary assistance such as incising the gums. I would recommend talking to your vet at D's next puppy visit for vaccinations. Or scheduling an oral exam just to be safe. Dental radiographs may be needed to assess her dentition.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Pippa. Every puppy grows and develops at a different rate. At this age, I would recommend monitoring her. If her facial conformation continues to rapidly change, then you will need to discuss it with her veterinarian. If any of her teeth are causing pain by contacting the opposite gum tissue, then intervention by.a veterinary dentist may be necessary. Most puppies will be fine. An underbite is generally less worrisome then an overbite where the lower canine teeth can contact the hard palate. I hope this information helps!

I think the best thing you can do is see if the breeder will let you take the puppy to the vet to have this checked out for yourself. The vet will be able to tell you if there will be problems in the future or not. Should the breeder not allow this (and I would ask to do it when the puppy is a bit older, around four weeks), then do not get the puppy. Any reputable breeder would allow a potential owner to do a vet check. I hope this helps!

An over bite can be a problem depending on the alignment of the lower jaw. If the lower canines come in contact with the hard pallet, then that can cause a problem. This can be fixed however by removing the lower teeth or shortening and capping them. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

There can be some variation in teeth eruption time. By 8 weeks I expect to see most teeth erupted. If by 10 weeks they are not there then a consultation with a veterinarian with dental radiographs or a referral to a veterinary dentist would be ideal. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there. Puppies begin teething at around 12 weeks of age, meaning that they lose their baby teeth and the adult teeth start to come in. This can cause their breath to smell different, so it's possible that this is what you're noticing. If you're concerned, I would recommend taking Trappy to the vet for an exam when you're able to. He/she can take a look at his mouth to make sure everything is normal :)