hi, my guinea pig bit the bars of her cage too hard yesterday and her two front teeth loosened, then one fell out. i took her to the vet today and she’s unsure whether it will grow back or not, since it fell below the gum line. the one left will probably fall too. i feel so sad and guilty, this little buddy depends on me and although i did my best to take care of her now she may have to face the consequences of me not supervising her enough. what are the chances that they will regrow? is it common for them to do? is there anything that can be done? : (
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tooth fell out
- Thread starter motocuya
- Start date
Hi and welcome
Incisors are the longest teeth guinea pigs have (around 4 cm) and they are very curved. They can break at any point above or below the gum line. Chances of regrowth are very good unless the roots are damaged.
It just takes longer and your vet may have to file back the upper incisors at some point if they grow too long for your piggy to pick up food because the incisors abrade and sharpen against each other; they can abrade enough against one firm opposite incisor without needing any intervention but not against both opposite incisors missing or a single wobbly incisor - if needed as ask your vet to please remove the broken wobbly bit as gently as possible. Once growing back, the four incisors should meet again and self-adjust unless the remaining incisors are badly overgrown and will no longer meet.
Best take a picture now so you and your vet have got an idea how far to take the opposite incisors back and a comparison as to what 'normal' looks like. Normal incisors always look longer than they should be; especially the lower ones; it will help if your vet is not very experienced with guinea pigs. Bad dentals can mean that a piggy is unable to pick up food properly and to eat on their own.
Depending on where the break is, it may take several week for the incisors to grow out again. Please weigh your piggy at least once weekly on your kitchen scales and switch to weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison if you have a suspicion that your piggy is starting to struggle to pick up hay and hard foods with just one set of incisors and their tongue. It is mostly a watch and waiting game. Because we cannot tell you where the breaks have happened (one obviously a bit further down than the other), we cannot give you a time line and you have to use your own judgement as you go along.
If necessary and if your scales start telling you so, please step in with feeding top up.
You can find great practical advice and how-to tips with pictures and videos for weighing, top up feeding and when to step in these links here:
- How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
- Weight - Monitoring and Management
- All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
If it is any help to you, my old lady Hapus, who passed away 10 days ago shortly before her 7th birthday broke both her lower incisors twice last autumn from energetic cvage gnawing; the first time below the gum line but both times the teeth grew back normally and she had several more months without any further dental issues.
All the best!
thank you so much, i will bear all this in mind, and i’m very sorry for your loss, sending you hugsHi and welcome
Incisors are the longest teeth guinea pigs have (around 4 cm) and they are very curved. They can break at any point above or below the gum line. Chances of regrowth are very good unless the roots are damaged.
It just takes longer and your vet may have to file back the upper incisors at some point if they grow too long for your piggy to pick up food because the incisors abrade and sharpen against each other; they can abrade enough against one firm opposite incisor without needing any intervention but not against both opposite incisors missing or a single wobbly incisor - if needed as ask your vet to please remove the broken wobbly bit as gently as possible. Once growing back, the four incisors should meet again and self-adjust unless the remaining incisors are badly overgrown and will no longer meet.
Best take a picture now so you and your vet have got an idea how far to take the opposite incisors back and a comparison as to what 'normal' looks like. Normal incisors always look longer than they should be; especially the lower ones; it will help if your vet is not very experienced with guinea pigs. Bad dentals can mean that a piggy is unable to pick up food properly and to eat on their own.
Depending on where the break is, it may take several week for the incisors to grow out again. Please weigh your piggy at least once weekly on your kitchen scales and switch to weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison if you have a suspicion that your piggy is starting to struggle to pick up hay and hard foods with just one set of incisors and their tongue. It is mostly a watch and waiting game. Because we cannot tell you where the breaks have happened (one obviously a bit further down than the other), we cannot give you a time line and you have to use your own judgement as you go along.
If necessary and if your scales start telling you so, please step in with feeding top up.
You can find great practical advice and how-to tips with pictures and videos for weighing, top up feeding and when to step in these links here:
- How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
- Weight - Monitoring and Management
- All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
If it is any help to you, my old lady Hapus, who passed away 10 days ago shortly before her 7th birthday broke both her lower incisors twice last autumn from energetic cvage gnawing; the first time below the gum line but both times the teeth grew back normally and she had several more months without any further dental issues.
All the best!
i have one more question, if it's not too much trouble. if the tooth fell out from the root, does it mean that the root was damaged? or is it just a possibility? thanks again
Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
You won't really know about that until the tooth starts to grow back. There have been pigs on the forum who have managed with missing incisors. My vet told me once that if only one incisor is lost the remaining one can be enough to keep the opposing teeth short. in the meantime you might have to cut veggies into thin matchsticks and help her realise that although things are a little different she can still enjoy her food 
thank you so much, i will bear all this in mind, and i’m very sorry for your loss, sending you hugs
i have one more question, if it's not too much trouble. if the tooth fell out from the root, does it mean that the root was damaged? or is it just a possibility? thanks again
That is a question only an x-ray or waiting for the tooth to regrow or not can answer. It depends on whether the break has happened back at the root or before the root. Generally, breaks from bar gnawing happen more commonly before the root but root infections/root abcesses can mean that a tooth may never grow back or only as a shard.
I would recommend that you concentrate on feeding soft and leafy veg and to cut it in fine strips, which are more easy to pick up; you have to do a bit of a trial an error test as to what she can eat and what not and take it from there.
You may also want to try and see whether she can still eat hay - if not, you will have to replace it with recovery formula or softened/mushed pellets soaked in some water (see our syringe feeding guide for how-to details).