We know that some terrestrial vertebrates has exposed teeth,some of them are for sexual displaying,some are for a weapon or a tool,but most terrestrial vertebrates' teeth are cover by lips,the surrounding in the mouth and ouside is different.so is there any special mechanism for maintaing the exposed teeth of those animals?
Hello Li; The exposed teeth that you are thinking about, elephants, pigs, some rodents, lagomorphs and a few deer all have open pulp cavities and as a result the teeth grows continuously throughout the animal's life. That growth compensates for the wear that occurs as a result of the tooth's function. In fact, if the wear of the tooth doesn't approximately equal the growth rate then serious malocclusions may occur. The attached photo is of the skull of a California Ground Squirrel where such a condition resulted in the animals' death. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
Hello Li; The exposed teeth that you are thinking about, elephants, pigs, some rodents, lagomorphs and a few deer all have open pulp cavities and as a result the teeth grows continuously throughout the animal's life. That growth compensates for the wear that occurs as a result of the tooth's function. In fact, if the wear of the tooth doesn't approximately equal the growth rate then serious malocclusions may occur. The attached photo is of the skull of a California Ground Squirrel where such a condition resulted in the animals' death. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
I think the question points in a different direction. I guess it means more to what extent the technical properties of teeth that are in the air and not in the mouth differ. Teeth have a relatively high proportion of water integrated into their molecular structure. When teeth dry out, massive tension or even tension cracks usually arise. So are there differences in the structure of teeth in animals that have some teeth in the air outside their mouths as not permanently growing teeth? For example, the canines of saber-tooth cats or of water deer (Hydropotes inermis) would be of interest.
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