Yes. Dogs live well without teeth, and many eat with more interest once painful ones are gone. A dog uses its teeth to grab and tear food, not to grind it the way we do, so soft food or kibble soaked in warm water is all most toothless dogs need. The Merck Veterinary Manual says dogs "do surprisingly well without the teeth."
Most dogs that end up with no teeth lost them to gum disease, and the last ones usually come out during a dental cleaning under anesthesia. Afterwards the tongue may hang out, and the food has to be soft for a while. The mouth also still needs a vet to look at it once a year.
Why losing the teeth is often a relief
A tooth that gets pulled is rarely a healthy one. In a 2025 study of more than 21,000 extracted teeth from small and medium dogs, gum disease was the reason for 82% of them (Kim and colleagues, Animals).
Dogs hide this kind of pain well. "Most dogs mask their pain," Merck notes, so the difference often only shows once the bad teeth are out. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's 2026 dental guidelines call untreated dental disease an animal welfare concern.
If your vet has recommended taking out many or all of the teeth, it's worth asking why each tooth needs pulling and which ones might be saved. Your vet can show you the reasons on the dental X-rays.
What a dog with no teeth eats
The best numbers come from an owner survey of 55 dogs that had every tooth removed at one veterinary referral practice (DeRose and Hale, 2023, Journal of Veterinary Dentistry). 29 of the 55 dogs went on eating the same food they ate before surgery. 27 owners said their dog was keener on its food than before, and only 3 said less keen. 45 of the 55 owners were highly satisfied with the result.
Only 55 of the 168 owners who were sent the survey replied, and happy owners tend to be the ones who answer. Even so, losing every tooth didn't mean a new diet for about half of these dogs, and some dogs do go back to dry kibble once the gums have healed, because a dog swallows most pieces whole anyway.
During the healing weeks the food has to be soft, and your clinic's plan for tooth extraction recovery comes first. After the recheck, these all work for a dog with no teeth.
- Canned or wet food, with any big chunks mashed with a fork
- The usual kibble soaked in warm water or plain, low-salt broth until a piece crushes easily
- Small kibble served dry, if your dog eats it happily and doesn't drop it
- Soft treats broken into small pieces
Watch how your dog eats for the first few weeks back on a food. Dropping pieces, eating slowly or leaving half the bowl means the texture is wrong, so soften it again.
Treats, toys and chewing
A dog with no teeth still wants to lick and play. Lick mats with wet food spread on them, soft plush toys and treat balls that drop small soft pieces all work. Tug games are harder without teeth to hold on with, so swap them for chase or sniffing games.
Bones, antlers and hard chews don't have a job to do any more. There's nothing left for them to clean, and a toothless jaw can be weaker than it looks.
Why the tongue hangs out
Without teeth, the tip of the tongue can slide out over the lower lip. The reason is the lower canines, the long fangs at the front of the lower jaw. In a 2017 talk on extractions at the WSAVA World Congress, veterinary dentist Brook Niemiec said this tooth "often holds the tongue in," so it is "not uncommon" for the tongue to hang out once it has been pulled.
A hanging tongue doesn't usually bother the dog. We found no study that counts how often it happens or whether it fades. Keep an eye on the tip, because it's out in the air. Call your vet if it looks dry, cracked, cut or swollen, if it turns pale or dark, or if your dog can't pull it back in to drink.
Which dogs end up with no teeth
Small dogs, mostly. Their teeth are crowded into short jaws, and in UK vet records dogs under 10 kg (22 lb) had about three times the odds of a gum disease diagnosis compared with dogs weighing 30 to 40 kg (O'Neill and colleagues, 2021, Journal of Small Animal Practice). In a 2025 study of 42 dogs treated for stomatitis, a painful inflammation of the mouth lining, at a veterinary dental service, 10 of the 19 dogs under 5 kg (11 lb) ended up with no teeth, against 4 of the 23 heavier dogs (Ford and colleagues, Frontiers in Veterinary Science). The study was small and looked back at records from one clinic, so take it as a pattern rather than a rate.
That points to a second route to a toothless mouth. In stomatitis in dogs, the gums and cheeks react badly to plaque, and removing the teeth takes away most of the surfaces plaque grows on. Even so, two in three dogs in the study kept at least some teeth, and for 62% of all 42 dogs, treating the gum disease was what cleared the ulcers.
Looking after a mouth with no teeth
No teeth doesn't mean no plaque. Plaque also forms on the lining of the mouth and on the tongue, which is why some dogs with stomatitis keep getting ulcers after every tooth is out. A mouth with no teeth still deserves a look at every annual checkup.
Gum care for a toothless dog usually means wiping the gums with a soft damp cloth after meals, or a chlorhexidine rinse your vet supplies. We know of no trial in dogs with no teeth, so ask your vet whether your dog's mouth needs it.
The jaw needs some care too. The lower canines have long, curved roots, and Niemiec warned that taking them out "will greatly weaken the jaw." For a small dog that lost bone to gum disease, ask your vet whether rough play and hard chews should stay off the list for good.
When to call your vet
- Your dog stops eating, or eats much less, for more than a day
- Weight loss you can feel over the ribs or spine
- Bad breath that comes back strongly
- Drooling, pawing at the face or rubbing the mouth on the floor
- Swelling on the jaw or under an eye
- A sore, dry or injured tongue, or one that stays out all the time when it didn't before
- A jaw that hangs open or a mouth that won't close
Questions owners ask
How long can a dog live without teeth?
No study has followed toothless dogs to compare their lifespan with other dogs. The research that exists is about comfort and eating. A dog with no painful teeth left often eats with more interest than before.
Can a dog with no teeth eat dry kibble?
Many can, once the gums have healed, since dogs swallow most kibble whole. Start with soaked kibble and soak it for less time over a few days. If your dog drops pieces or slows down, go back to softer food.
Are dogs sad after all their teeth are pulled?
Not in the way owners fear. Dogs tend to be quiet for the first few days of healing, then brighter than before, because the source of pain is gone. In the DeRose and Hale survey, 51 of 55 owners reported their dog's mouth was more comfortable afterwards.
Does a dog with no teeth still need dental care?
Yes, but less of it. There are no teeth to brush, but the gums and the rest of the mouth still need a vet check each year. If your dog has a few teeth left, those still need daily brushing.
References
- DeRose D, Hale F. Owner survey of 55 dogs that underwent full mouth extraction procedures in a referral practice. J Vet Dent. 2023;40(2), 125-133. doi 10.1177/08987564221141999
- O'Neill DG, Mitchell CE, Humphrey J, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C. Epidemiology of periodontal disease in dogs in the UK primary-care veterinary setting. J Small Anim Pract. 2021;62(12), 1051-1061. doi 10.1111/jsap.13405
- Ford J, Bell C, Donovan TA, Martel D. Surgical outcomes in canine lymphoplasmacytic stomatitis, a retrospective study of 42 dogs (2012-2022). Front Vet Sci. 2025;12, 1681133. doi 10.3389/fvets.2025.1681133
- Kim CG, Kwon D, Lee K, Kim SE, Jo HM. Prevalence of reasons for tooth extraction in small- and medium-breed dogs. Animals (Basel). 2025;15(2), 224. doi 10.3390/ani15020224
- Niemiec BA. Surgical extractions and complications. World Small Animal Veterinary Association World Congress Proceedings, 2017.
- Niemiec B, Gawor J, Nemec A, et al. World Small Animal Veterinary Association global dental guidelines. J Small Anim Pract. 2026;67(10), 859-987. doi 10.1111/jsap.70057
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Reiter AM. Dental disorders of dogs (pet owner version, updated October 2025).
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Mulherin BL. Oral inflammatory and ulcerative disease in small animals (professional version, updated November 2024).