{"id":2575,"date":"2025-02-27T11:58:22","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clovermeadowsbeef.com\/?p=2575"},"modified":"2025-06-06T10:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T15:10:14","slug":"cows-have-teeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clovermeadowsbeef.com\/cows-have-teeth\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Cows Have Teeth? Estimating Cattle Age With Teeth (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019re sometimes asked, \u201cDo cows have teeth?\u201d and \u201cCan they bite you?\u201d Teeth are extremely important for a cow because they need to be able to chew grass so they can digest it. Cows do have teeth, but they can’t bite like humans can. Here’s why… <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do Cows Have Teeth?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes, cows have teeth. Interestingly, it\u2019s by their teeth that you can estimate their age (more on that below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cattle first develop 20 temporary teeth, known also as deciduous teeth, milk teeth, or baby teeth. These temporary teeth eventually fall out and are replaced with 32 permanent adult teeth as they mature. Like humans, a cow’s temporary baby teeth are much smaller in size than the permanent teeth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cattle have three major teeth types: lower incisors, premolars, and molars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Lower Incisors are toward the front of the mouth and only on the bottom jaw. The front of the upper jaw is a hard dental pad and there are no front upper teeth. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Premolars are next to the incisors on the sides and further towards the rear of the mouth. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Molars are at the back of the mouth, next to the premolars. The premolars and molars are together known as cheek teeth. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    Estimating a Cow’s Age by Teeth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Cattle, like many animals, start life with baby or milk teeth. From about two years of age these teeth are replaced with permanent teeth. When estimating cattle age, we look at the number of incisor teeth, the type of teeth (\u201cbaby teeth\u201d or permanent teeth), and tooth wear, and overall appearance of the teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since we\u2019re a cow-calf farm, we usually know exactly when our cattle are born. Part of our cattle management system is to keep birth records (and medical records) for all our cattle so we know their exact age. However, there have been times that we have purchased cattle from other farms and their birth records are not as clear. In these instances, we can estimate their age looking at their teeth. This process is called dentition, which is the arrangement or condition of teeth in the mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How Many Teeth Does a Cow Have?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Mature cattle have a total of 32 teeth and they\u2019re three types of teeth: incisors, premolars, and molars. Only the incisors (bottom front teeth) are used to estimate their age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here’s a short video of Matt checking a cow’s teeth. (And don’t worry — this doesn’t hurt the cow at all!)