Animal Anatomy for Creators: Dentition in Age, Illness, and Injury - Part 1
Source:Â Horses' teeth. Clarke, William H., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Anyone watching a crime show knows how much we can tell about a person through their teeth. But what about animals? How can we translate perfectly-drawn anatomy to character?
Since teeth are used regularly in many species, they wear and change along with the animal’s history. Most animals have adult teeth for life. Some teeth are designed to grow fast enough to compensate for heavy wear, which can be problematic if the environment or diet changes (such as a domestic vs. wild rabbit).
I’m going to focus on species which don’t continually replace teeth, as I haven’t worked with a lot of crocodilians or sharks directly. I’ll need to do a bit more digging before I explore that topic.
Under the Cut (Part 1)
Diet & Dentition
Herbivores
Carnivores
In the future (because I got really tired and I need food)
Maybe an apology for biasing towards feline teeth
Omnivores
Specialized teeth
Wear types
Gum & Tooth Color
Infection & Abscess
Behavioral Impacts
Images of animal skulls and mild dental disease under the cut. Links included to images of severe dental disease.
Note the difference in molar color between the older and younger hippos.
Source:Â European rabbit, skull, Coll. Museum Wiesbaden. Wikimedia Commons.
Herbivore teeth are the pickup trucks of dentition. They experience and need to be made for heavy, constant wear. Herbivores may chew fibrous, often starchy material that might be protected by thick cell walls or irritating structures.
Herbivorous teeth have evolved to compensate for this wear. In fact, when many herbivores don’t eat regularly, they are prone to conditions like overgrown teeth and ulcers.
These giant jawbones support strong chewing muscles. These animals are meant to be eating for most of the day.
Since I should have realized herbivore teeth pics would be harder to find, have a skull!
Source:Â giraffe skull model, Brevard Zoo.
Note the teeth for two main purposes: pulling and chewing. Get a look at those jawbones too. Those anchor very strong, very well-used muscles.
For some examples of abnormal wear, check out this veterinarian’s article on horse dental problems. This isn’t a perfect example of what occurs in wild animals but since we take closer looks at horse teeth it’s a nice set of pictures. Slight content warning for dental disease. https://www.texasequinedentist.com/equine-dental-care/common-equine-dental-problems.html#:~:text=Horse%20teeth%20wear%20in%20specific,issue%20for%20today's%20domestic%20horses.
Carnivores
Source:Â Clouded Leopard Mouth Open. Eric Kilby via Wikimedia Commons.
(fox skull, seal skull)
Carnivorous animals eat less frequently, but need to remove and pick apart flesh from bone. They experience less frequent and more specialized use.
Consider several tigers and their dentition. What is different about them? Which individuals are older?
See: Pink gums, little discoloration, little signs of wear especially on the back teeth.
Source: Flehmen on a tiger. Wikimedia commons.
See: Wear, slight inflammation between gums/teeth, yellowing, missing incisor. Possibly a chip on the right upper canine? Could be the image quality. Look at the discoloration on those molars.
See: What happened to those incisors? I’m pretty sure those are adult canine teeth and those usually come in last, and we can’t see the lower incisors....it could be that those are coming in and I’m just not sure on the tooth order. This cat doesn’t look old but I’m not sure what went on with the front teeth here.
Source:Â Young Panthera tigris altaica, Wikimedia Commons.
See: Here come the grownup canines! Notice some slight inflammation around the gums where they’re erupting, and how the rest of the teeth are whiter and healthy.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Trying to create a unique entry for our townhouse from the small sea of identical townhouses is challenging given the HOA rules. Adding vines around the front door is definitely helping. Bonus, changing it out seasonally will be easy because first I installed a DIY framework made with plumbing supplies! Here’s what I did…
DIY Pipe Frame
First thing I made was a lightweight frame of sorts with…
