Do sheep have teeth? The short answer is yes, but their dental anatomy is distinctly specialized for a life of grazing. Sheep, like other ruminants such as cattle and goats, possess a full complement of 32 permanent teeth designed for processing fibrous plant material. The arrangement of these teeth is radically different from that of humans or carnivores, reflecting their herbivorous diet and unique digestive system. This specialized dentition allows them to efficiently harvest and process grass and hay.
The Unique Front Dental Structure
A sheep’s mouth lacks upper incisors and canines. The front of the upper jaw is covered by the dental pad, a dense, fibrous structure. This tough cushion acts as an immobile surface against which the lower teeth press during grazing. The dental pad is composed of dense, richly vascular tissue.
The lower jaw holds eight front teeth that work in conjunction with the dental pad to clip forage. These eight teeth include six true incisors and two canines, though the canines are shaped and function identically to the incisors, appearing as a single set. When grazing, the sheep wraps its tongue around grass and pushes it against the dental pad. The sharp lower incisors then shear the plant material against the upper pad, allowing the sheep to clip the grass efficiently before swallowing.
The gap between these front teeth and the rear grinding teeth is a large, toothless space called the diastema. This space is common to herbivores, allowing the animal to manipulate forage. The front teeth are exclusively for clipping, while the back teeth perform the heavy-duty grinding necessary for digestion.
The Role of Cheek Teeth in Grazing
While the front teeth are responsible for harvesting the grass, the true work of processing the roughage falls to the posterior teeth. These are the cheek teeth, which include premolars and molars. Mature sheep possess three premolars and three molars on each side of the upper and lower jaw, totaling 24 cheek teeth.
These teeth are wide, flat, and robust, featuring complex enamel ridges that maximize the grinding effect. The powerful, lateral chewing motion crushes and grinds the tough cellulose in plant cell walls. This mechanical breakdown is a fundamental step for ruminants, who must reduce food to small particles before it passes through their four-chambered stomach system.
Sheep are ruminants, meaning they chew their cud—regurgitated, partially digested food—multiple times for maximum nutrient extraction. The cheek teeth are utilized extensively during rumination, creating a fine particle size essential for microbial fermentation in the rumen. Without properly functioning molars and premolars, a sheep’s ability to efficiently process its diet would be severely compromised.
Estimating a Sheep’s Age by Tooth Eruption
The predictable pattern of permanent tooth eruption in sheep is a practical tool used by farmers and veterinarians to estimate an animal’s age. A lamb is born with a full set of temporary, smaller “milk teeth” on its lower jaw. These are gradually replaced by larger, permanent incisors in distinct pairs over the first few years of life.
Eruption Timeline
The first pair of permanent incisors, located centrally, typically erupts when the sheep is around 12 to 15 months old. The second pair follows at approximately two years of age, and the third pair at three years. By four years old, the final, outermost pair has emerged, resulting in a “full mouth” of eight permanent lower front teeth.
Beyond four years, age estimation relies on the degree of wear, the widening of gaps between the incisors, and the eventual loss of teeth. Sheep with severely worn or missing incisors are often referred to as “broken-mouthed,” which directly impacts their ability to graze effectively on short pasture.