A Great Dane loses its deciduous teeth and grows 42 adult ones across roughly three to eight months of age, at the same time as the fastest skeletal growth of any common breed. Dental care through that window means gentle daily handling, safe chew choices, and a veterinary check at six months for retained baby teeth.
The Teething Timeline, Month by Month
Great Danes follow the same broad schedule as other dogs, though giant breeds often finish at the later end of the range. The deciduous set, 28 small sharp teeth, is usually complete by eight weeks. Adult incisors begin pushing through at around three to four months. Canines and premolars follow through months four to six. The molars, which have no deciduous predecessors, arrive last, typically between five and seven months. Some Danes are still settling their back teeth at eight months.
Treat those ranges as typical rather than exact. A puppy well outside them is not necessarily in trouble, but it is worth mentioning at the next appointment.
Why Teething in a Giant Breed Is Not Just Teething
The complication with a Great Dane is that everything is happening at once. Between four and seven months this is a puppy adding significant weight and height every week, with growth plates wide open, joints under load, and an appetite to match. Teething sits inside that.
Two practical consequences follow. First, a Dane puppy's chewing drive during this period is powerful enough to do real damage to furniture, to itself, and to its own developing teeth if the wrong object is available. Second, the size of the mouth changes month to month, so a chew or toy that was appropriately sized in April can be a choking hazard in June and back to being too small in August. Reassess the fit regularly.
There is also an owner factor. Puppies this size look grown up long before they are. It is easy to forget that a sixty pound five month old still has a mouth full of erupting teeth and genuinely sore gums.
Retained Deciduous Teeth: The Thing Owners Miss
Occasionally a baby tooth does not fall out when its adult replacement erupts. The result is two teeth in one position, most often a canine, with the deciduous tooth sitting just in front of or behind the permanent one. This is called a retained or persistent deciduous tooth.
It matters because the two teeth trap hair and food between them, crowd the adult tooth into an abnormal position, and can push the permanent canine into a spot where it strikes the opposite jaw. The gap between them collects debris in a place no brush reaches.
Retained teeth are usually extracted, and the decision and the procedure belong to your veterinarian. If you can see two canines on the same side after about six months of age, book an appointment rather than waiting for the baby tooth to loosen. The Merck Veterinary Manual's owner guide to dental disorders of dogs covers developmental abnormalities of this kind alongside the other common problems.
Bite Alignment While the Jaw Is Growing
The upper and lower jaws of a growing dog lengthen somewhat independently, so a puppy's bite can look different at four months than it does at eight. In most dogs this resolves. In some it does not, and a malocclusion develops where teeth contact soft tissue or the opposing jaw in a way that causes discomfort.
Things worth reporting to your veterinarian include a lower canine that appears to be striking the roof of the mouth, visible ulceration on the palate, a puppy that chatters or winces when closing its mouth, a jaw that looks asymmetrical, or reluctance to pick up toys. Some of these findings are time critical, because interceptive treatment during growth is easier than correction afterwards.
Please raise any of this with your veterinarian rather than waiting to see whether the puppy grows out of it. A bite that needs attention is far more straightforward to address at five months than at eighteen.
What to Offer a Sore Mouth, and What to Avoid
The avoid list is short and firm: no bones, antlers, hooves, hard nylon, ice cubes or stones, and nothing an adult could not dent with a thumbnail. A puppy's erupting teeth and thin enamel are more vulnerable than an adult's, and a fracture in a permanent tooth at six months is a problem for the next decade.
What helps is texture that yields. Damp rope toys chilled in the fridge, soft rubber teething toys, and appropriately soft chews all give a puppy something to press sore gums against without risking damage. Supervise everything, and remove anything that starts coming apart.
Ark Naturals Soft Brushless Toothpaste is the gentler format in the Ark range, made for dogs with sensitive mouths and offered in Small and Large. Ark states the range is suitable for all sizes and ages, but a teething Great Dane is a specific case, so ask your veterinarian whether and when to introduce a daily dental chew for your puppy, and choose the size by how much work it gives your dog rather than by any published weight figure, since Ark does not publish one.
Starting Brushing While the Teeth Are Still Coming In
Teething is an awkward time to start brushing and an excellent time to start handling. Separate the two in your mind. During months four to seven, focus on teaching your Dane that fingers in and around the mouth are normal and rewarded. Lift a lip, count to two, give a treat. Touch a tooth with a fingertip, reward. Build up.
Introduce a soft brush and dog specific paste when the gums are no longer visibly inflamed, often around seven to eight months. Keep pressure light. A puppy who associates the brush with a sore spot will resist it for years.
By the first birthday you want a dog who will sit calmly for thirty seconds of brushing. That is a realistic goal if you spend the teething months on tolerance rather than on technique.
The Six and Twelve Month Checkpoints
Two appointments deserve to be planned rather than assumed. At around six months, ask your veterinarian to look specifically for retained deciduous teeth, to check the bite, and to note anything unusual about eruption. Many practices fold this into a spay or neuter discussion, which is a convenient moment because the mouth can be examined thoroughly under anaesthesia if one is planned.
At twelve months, ask for a full adult oral exam and a baseline record of the mouth. A Great Dane's life is shorter than a small dog's, and the years between one and five are the ones where consistent home care pays off most visibly.
Between those two visits, look in the mouth weekly. You are checking for double teeth, for gum colour, for anything broken, and for anything that has changed since last week.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Great Dane puppies finish teething?
Most Danes have their full adult set between six and eight months, with the molars arriving last. Giant breeds often run slightly later than small ones. Chewing drive frequently continues well past the point where teething ends, so heavy chewing at nine or ten months is normal behaviour rather than a sign the process is unfinished.
Is it normal for a teething puppy's gums to bleed?
Light bleeding as a deciduous tooth loosens and falls out is common and usually brief. Blood on a chew toy during this period is not automatically alarming. Bleeding that is heavy, persistent, or coming from a site with no loose tooth should be assessed by your veterinarian rather than watched at home.
What if my Great Dane swallows a baby tooth?
Most swallowed deciduous teeth pass without incident, and puppies swallow them far more often than owners find them. There is generally no need for concern. If your puppy seems uncomfortable, refuses food, or vomits afterwards, contact your veterinarian, because those signs are about something other than the tooth itself.
Can I give my teething Great Dane ice cubes?
Ice is best avoided. It is hard enough to chip a tooth, and puppy enamel is not forgiving. If you want a cooling effect, a wet cloth twisted and chilled in the fridge, or a soft rubber toy cooled the same way, gives the same relief without the fracture risk. Always supervise.
Should a teething puppy have a dental chew at all?
That is a question for your veterinarian, who can look at where your individual puppy is in the eruption process. As a general principle, softer formats are more appropriate than firm ones during active teething, supervision is essential, and any chew should be counted within a growing puppy's daily intake. Brushing habits can be built in parallel.
Related reading: Ark Naturals Soft Brushless Toothpaste: What Can I Give a Dog With a Sensitive Mouth?