Weird pig teeth
May. 21st, 2010 07:29 pmThis week's weird pathology is a set of three pig front teeth from the lower jaw. They have fused at the tip, but are still not fully developed at the root. It seems to me that there are three different teeth: one decidious incisor (front milk tooth), one adult incisor and one adult canine tooth. Judging by the shape of the canine and of its enamel area, I think it's a female pig.
So what on earth has happened here? I've never seen a similar tooth fusion before. I think that as a little piglet, she (?) was kicked in the snout (or perhaps she went adventuring and fell hard on her face), and as the jaw healed from the fracture, this caused the developing teeth to move too close, and just as a tree can grow around and into a fence, the three teeth fused.

From below

From above
So what on earth has happened here? I've never seen a similar tooth fusion before. I think that as a little piglet, she (?) was kicked in the snout (or perhaps she went adventuring and fell hard on her face), and as the jaw healed from the fracture, this caused the developing teeth to move too close, and just as a tree can grow around and into a fence, the three teeth fused.

From below

From above