Chihuahua Teeth: Why They're So Bad (and How To Fix It)

Q: How many teeth do Chihuahuas have?

Adult Chihuahuas have 42 teeth — the same as all dogs regardless of size. Puppies have 28 baby teeth that should be replaced by adult teeth between 3–7 months. Having 42 adult teeth in an extremely small jaw is precisely why Chihuahuas have so many dental problems.

Q: How do I brush a Chihuahua's teeth when they hate it?

Start by letting them lick enzymatic toothpaste off your finger, then gradually introduce a finger brush. Keep sessions to 10–15 seconds initially, reward heavily afterward, and build up over 3–4 weeks. A 30-second daily session beats a 3-minute weekly battle.

Chihuahuas are notorious in veterinary dentistry circles for one thing: their teeth are almost always a disaster. If you own a Chihuahua, you’ve probably been told this at the vet — or you’ve watched in dismay as your dog’s tiny mouth developed problems faster than you expected. You’re not imagining it, and it’s not your fault for being a bad owner. Chihuahuas are anatomically predisposed to severe dental disease, and understanding why is the first step to actually managing it.

This guide covers the specific dental challenges Chihuahuas face, how to build a care routine that actually fits their mouths, and what you can realistically expect from veterinary care for this breed.

Table of Contents

Why Chihuahuas Have the Worst Dental Health of Any Breed

The short version: Chihuahuas have the teeth of a large dog crammed into the jaw of a tiny dog. The math doesn’t work.

Dogs have 42 adult teeth, regardless of size. A German Shepherd and a two-pound Chihuahua have exactly the same number of teeth — but the Chihuahua’s jaw is roughly 1/20th the size. This extreme crowding creates several compounding problems:

Crowding and rotation — Teeth that don’t have room grow at angles, overlapping adjacent teeth. Rotated teeth create deep pockets and ledges where food and bacteria accumulate far more rapidly than in properly aligned dentition.
Retained baby teeth — Chihuahuas frequently fail to shed their deciduous (baby) teeth on schedule. When an adult tooth erupts alongside the retained baby tooth, both become useless — the double-tooth arrangement traps debris and accelerates disease in both. Retained baby teeth typically need extraction.
Abnormal occlusion (malocclusion) — Chihuahuas commonly have underbites, overbites, or significantly misaligned jaws. This affects how the teeth wear against each other and creates additional abnormal contact points and gaps.
Shallow jaw bone — Chihuahuas have limited bone depth supporting their teeth roots. This means that as periodontal disease progresses, teeth lose their bony support much faster than in larger dogs — leading to early tooth loosening and loss even in relatively young dogs.

The result: Chihuahuas typically develop significant periodontal disease earlier than almost any other breed, often by age 2–3 when they’re still considered young adults.

Retained Baby Teeth in Chihuahuas

This deserves special attention because it’s so common in Chihuahuas and many owners don’t know what to look for.

Normally, baby teeth loosen and fall out as adult teeth push up beneath them, usually between 3–7 months of age. In Chihuahuas, this process frequently fails — the adult tooth comes in alongside the retained baby tooth rather than displacing it. You’ll see what looks like two teeth in the same spot, often side by side.

Why this matters: retained baby teeth create a tight space between two tooth surfaces that’s impossible to clean. Food and bacteria pack into this space constantly, leading to accelerated plaque accumulation, gum inflammation, and early periodontal disease specifically in those locations. The retained tooth also often pushes the adult tooth into an abnormal position.

The fix is straightforward — extraction of the retained baby tooth under anesthesia, typically at the same time as spay/neuter surgery when many Chihuahua owners have their dog anesthetized anyway. If your Chihuahua still has a baby tooth at 6+ months, mention it to your vet.

How Fast Dental Disease Progresses in Chihuahuas

Normal dental disease progression in a dog: plaque forms within hours of eating, mineralizes into tartar within 3–5 days, accumulates over months and years before causing significant problems.

In Chihuahuas, the crowding and shallow jaw bone accelerate this substantially. Because teeth are packed tightly, the effective “cleaning area” during normal chewing is greatly reduced — many tooth surfaces are in constant contact with adjacent teeth and never benefit from natural mechanical cleaning. Tartar accumulates in these protected spaces rapidly.

It’s common for veterinarians to find significant tartar buildup and early periodontal disease in Chihuahuas at their first professional cleaning at age 1–2 — especially if home dental care wasn’t started early. By age 5–7, untreated Chihuahuas routinely have severe periodontal disease with multiple mobile or infected teeth.

This is why the care protocols for Chihuahuas are more intensive than for medium and large dogs, and why professional cleanings happen more frequently.

Chihuahua Dental Care Routine: What You Should Be Doing

Daily Brushing — Non-Negotiable for This Breed

For most dogs, brushing 3–4 times per week provides meaningful protection. For Chihuahuas, daily brushing is the actual target — because plaque mineralizes so quickly given their crowded conditions.

Use a finger brush rather than a full-sized toothbrush — a finger brush fits the small Chihuahua mouth more manageably and lets you feel what you’re doing. Apply enzymatic dog toothpaste (never human toothpaste — xylitol is toxic). Focus on the outer surfaces of the back teeth (molars and premolars), the areas most prone to tartar accumulation.

The technique that works best for small dogs: place your non-dominant hand over the dog’s head from above, tilting the nose up slightly, and use your thumb and finger to gently hold the lip up while you brush. Most Chihuahuas adapt to this in 2–3 weeks with consistent, calm repetition. Start with 10 seconds and work up. See our full brushing guide: How to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth the Right Way.

Choose the Right Dental Chews for a Small Dog

Dental chews for large dogs are not appropriate for Chihuahuas — they’re too hard, too big, and present choking or tooth fracture risks. Choose chews specifically sized for toy breeds, and look for the VOHC (Veterinary Oral Health Council) seal, which confirms independent testing for plaque/tartar reduction.

Soft dental chews work better than hard ones for Chihuahuas — the softer texture lets the dog actually chew through it, providing the scrubbing contact, rather than just swallowing it or giving up. Hard dental treats can also fracture the already smaller teeth of Chihuahuas. Learn more about what to look for: Best Dental Chews for Dogs.

Dental Water Additives

For dogs that resist brushing, dental water additives (VOHC-approved formulas added to drinking water) provide enzymatic protection throughout the day. This is particularly useful for Chihuahuas because it works passively — every sip of water delivers oral antibacterial action. While it doesn’t replace brushing, it meaningfully reduces the bacterial load between sessions.

Avoid Hard Chews and Bones

Chihuahua teeth are smaller and the jaw bone shallower. This makes them more susceptible to tooth fractures from hard objects. Avoid antlers, marrow bones, hard nylon chews, and ice cubes as chew toys. The “thumbnail test” — if you can’t make a dent in it with your thumbnail, it’s too hard for a Chihuahua’s teeth.

Professional Dental Cleanings for Chihuahuas

How Often?

Standard recommendation for most dogs is once per year. For Chihuahuas, most veterinary dentists recommend every 6 months — and sometimes every 4 months for dogs with particularly crowded mouths or history of rapid tartar accumulation.

The frequent schedule isn’t excessive — it’s catching tartar before it progresses to bone loss, which is irreversible. A cleaning at 6 months removes early tartar that would cause serious damage if left for a full year.

What the Procedure Involves

A proper veterinary dental cleaning for a Chihuahua requires general anesthesia (not anesthesia-free groomer-style cleanings, which can’t address the spaces most at risk). Under anesthesia, the vet can:

Scale above and below the gumline on all surfaces, including between crowded teeth
Take full-mouth dental X-rays (critical in Chihuahuas to assess bone loss and root health in crowded areas that look normal from the surface)
Probe every tooth pocket to measure periodontal attachment
Extract teeth that have lost their bony support or have root abscesses — often multiple teeth in a single session in older Chihuahuas

The anesthesia concern is real and worth discussing with your vet: small dogs have somewhat higher anesthetic risk than large dogs, and pre-operative bloodwork is always advisable. That said, the risk of untreated dental disease — chronic pain, oral infection spreading systemically, cardiac effects from oral bacteria — substantially outweighs the anesthesia risk in a properly evaluated patient. Read more about professional cleaning expectations: What to Expect After Dog Dental Cleaning.

Extractions Are Common — and Usually Fine

Many Chihuahua owners are alarmed when their dog needs multiple tooth extractions. It helps to know that this is extremely common in the breed, and dogs generally do remarkably well without their teeth. A Chihuahua with several extracted teeth still eats normally — soft kibble is easily gummed, and hard kibble is also manageable because dogs don’t chew food the same way humans do.

More importantly: tooth extraction ends the pain. Chihuahuas with advanced periodontal disease often hide their pain remarkably well (it’s an instinct from ancestral pack behavior — showing weakness attracts predators). After extractions, owners frequently describe dramatic behavioral improvements they didn’t realize were pain-related: increased energy, more appetite, renewed playfulness, and less crankiness.

Signs of Dental Problems in Your Chihuahua

Because Chihuahuas mask pain well, watch for these subtler signs:

Yellow-brown buildup at the gumline (visible tartar)
Red, puffy, or receding gum tissue
Bad breath that persists despite dental care
Preferring soft food or dropping kibble while eating
Pawing at the face or mouth
Chewing on one side of the mouth
Visible swelling below one eye (classic sign of upper premolar abscess in dogs)
Loose or missing teeth in a dog under 8 years old (adult teeth should not fall out naturally)
A retained baby tooth still present at 6+ months

Any of these warrants a veterinary dental examination. Chihuahuas’ mouths deteriorate quickly; early intervention is far less expensive and far less traumatic than addressing advanced disease. Learn all the warning signs: Signs Your Dog Needs a Professional Teeth Cleaning.

The Cost Reality for Chihuahua Dental Care

Because Chihuahuas need more frequent professional cleanings and often require extractions, their lifetime dental costs tend to be higher than large breeds. A typical professional dental cleaning with X-rays runs $300–$700. With extractions, a single cleaning can reach $800–$1,500 depending on how many teeth are removed.

The economics of prevention are stark: a year of daily brushing plus a dental chew habit costs roughly $5–15/month. One cleaning with extractions that could have been prevented costs $800+. See full cost breakdowns: Dog Teeth Cleaning Cost — What to Expect.

Pet insurance that includes dental coverage (not all plans do — check specifically for “dental illness” coverage, not just “dental accidents”) is worth considering for Chihuahua owners given the breed’s dental predisposition.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chihuahua Teeth

How many teeth do Chihuahuas have?

Adult Chihuahuas have 42 teeth — the same as all dogs, regardless of size. Chihuahua puppies have 28 baby teeth that should be replaced by adult teeth between 3–7 months. The fact that 42 adult teeth must fit in an extremely small jaw is precisely why Chihuahuas have so many dental problems.

My Chihuahua still has baby teeth at 8 months — what should I do?

Contact your vet. Retained baby teeth after 6–7 months are abnormal and should be extracted. Your vet will typically remove retained baby teeth at the same appointment as spay/neuter surgery or another procedure requiring anesthesia, or schedule a dedicated dental procedure.

Can a Chihuahua survive with no teeth?

Yes, very comfortably. Toothless Chihuahuas eat normally — dogs don’t chew food the way humans do; they mostly swallow kibble whole or with minimal crushing. Many owners report that their dog became noticeably happier and more active after extensive extractions, no longer living with chronic dental pain they’d been masking.

How do I brush a Chihuahua’s teeth when they hate it?

Start slowly — let them lick a tiny amount of enzymatic toothpaste off your finger first, then gradually introduce the finger brush. Keep sessions to 10–15 seconds initially, reward heavily afterward, and build up over 3–4 weeks. Consistency matters more than duration. A 30-second daily session beats a 3-minute weekly battle.

At what age should I start dental care for my Chihuahua?

Start immediately — even from 8 weeks when you first bring the puppy home. Handling the mouth, touching the teeth, and building comfort with the brushing routine during puppyhood is far easier than starting with an adult dog. A puppy that grows up with daily tooth touching rarely resists it as an adult.

Do all Chihuahuas get bad teeth?

The vast majority will develop significant dental disease without active preventive care. With consistent daily brushing, regular professional cleanings every 6 months, and appropriate dental chews, some Chihuahuas maintain relatively healthy mouths well into old age. Genetics play a role — some individual dogs have worse crowding than others — but daily home care is the primary differentiator between Chihuahuas with manageable dental health and those with early tooth loss.

The Bottom Line

If you own a Chihuahua, think of dental care not as an optional extra but as a core health maintenance requirement on par with vaccinations. The breed’s anatomy virtually guarantees dental disease without active prevention. The good news is that this is one of the most preventable forms of suffering in veterinary medicine — daily brushing, appropriate chews, and twice-yearly professional cleanings keep most Chihuahuas’ mouths manageable throughout their lives.

Start now, start early, and be consistent. A three-pound dog with healthy teeth lives a dramatically better quality of life than one in constant, hidden dental pain — and they’ll likely live longer too, given the systemic effects of untreated oral infection on heart, kidney, and liver function.