{"id":809,"date":"2018-09-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/template2\/dental-care-blog\/4-animals-unusual-teeth\/"},"modified":"2018-09-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T00:00:00","slug":"4-animals-unusual-teeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/dental-care-blog\/4-animals-unusual-teeth\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Animals With Unusual Teeth"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\"\" ANIMALS MIGHT NOT BE <\/b>as concerned with maintaining their oral health and hygiene as we are, but that doesn\u2019t stop some of them from having very interesting teeth! Like our teeth are adapted to an omnivorous diet, animal teeth are adapted to the foods they eat. In some cases, the results can get pretty strange. Today, we\u2019re going to focus on four of the weirdest sets of chompers we could find. <\/p>\n

1. The Tusks Of The Babirusa<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Babirusas are pigs native to Indonesia, but these pigs aren\u2019t quite like the farm animals we\u2019re used to. No, these pigs have a serious dental problem in the form of their multiple pairs of\u00a0very large tusks<\/a>. These tusks are actually the babirusas\u2019 canine teeth<\/strong>, which continue to grow through their lives. The males\u2019 upper canines grow right through their upper lips and keep growing, sometimes so much that they end up curving all the way back around towards their skulls! Yikes! <\/p>\n

2. The Icepick Teeth Of The Payara<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The payara is a carnivorous fish from the Amazon Basin whose lower fangs have earned it nicknames like \u201cvampire tetra\u201d and \u201csaber-tooth barracuda.\u201d These long, thin fangs range from four to seven inches long<\/strong>, and the payara uses them to impale its prey,\u00a0including piranhas<\/a>! Payara can grow to up to four feet long and 80 pounds! <\/p>\n

3. The Serrated Bill Of The Goosander<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At first, you might think a goosander looks like any other duck, but if you catch one yawning or chomping down on food, you\u2019ll notice its rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth! These European birds are members of the Merganser genus, also called sawbills \u2014 so named because of the\u00a0150 teeth<\/a>\u00a0lining their bills<\/strong>, which are designed to saw through whatever they eat, such as small mammals and sometimes even other birds! <\/p>\n

4. The Red Fangs Of The Triggerfish<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Triggerfish<\/a> are a group of about forty different species of brightly colored fish marked by the lines and spots in their scales, but don\u2019t let their beautiful scales distract you from their teeth! Triggerfish have very powerful jaws and teeth that they use to crush the shells of crustaceans. The redtoothed triggerfish is perhaps the weirdest species of the group, with bright red fangs protruding from its mouth!