Do Squirrels Teeth Continue to Grow and Can They Regrow?

Yes, squirrel teeth do keep growing, but only the front ones. A squirrel's four incisors grow continuously throughout its entire life, erupting at a steady rate to replace what gets worn down by constant gnawing. If one of those incisors breaks, it will grow back from the base, but if a squirrel loses a molar or premolar, that tooth is gone for good. Understanding exactly which teeth do what, and what can go wrong, is especially important if you've found a squirrel with dental problems today and need to decide whether it needs help.

Yes, squirrel incisors keep growing, their whole lives

Squirrels are rodents, and the defining biological feature of all rodents is that their incisors never stop growing. These teeth are described scientifically as "elodont" and "aradicular," which basically means they have open pulp cavities and no fixed anatomical roots, so the tooth keeps erupting upward and outward from the jaw throughout the animal's life. This is not a baby-teeth situation or a seasonal cycle, it's a permanent, lifelong biological process. Every squirrel you've ever seen gnawing on a hard walnut or stripping bark is demonstrating this system in action.

This continuous growth isn't a quirk, it's a survival mechanism. Squirrels use their incisors as both cutting tools and crowbars, gnawing a precise hole into a nut and then wedging the incisors in to split the shell apart. That kind of mechanical abuse would destroy any normal tooth within months. Continuous eruption solves this problem by constantly resupplying the working surface.

Can a squirrel grow back a lost or broken tooth?

Here's where things get more complicated, and where a lot of people get the wrong idea. If a squirrel's incisor breaks partway, the remaining structure will continue to grow and the tooth will eventually return to a functional length, because the growing mechanism at the base of the tooth is still intact. That's not the same as growing a brand new tooth, the same continuous eruption process just carries on from where it left off.

However, if the root-growing tissue at the base of an incisor is damaged or destroyed, the tooth will not come back. And if a squirrel loses a molar or premolar entirely, there is no replacement. Squirrels, like virtually all mammals, are diphyodont, meaning they get two sets of teeth in a lifetime: deciduous (baby) teeth and permanent teeth. Once the permanent teeth are in place, that's it. There is no regenerative replacement cycle the way some people imagine, nothing like what sharks do, for example. Molars that wear out or are lost simply stay gone, and the squirrel has to manage with what's left.

Incisors vs. molars: very different stories

It's worth being clear about the two completely different dental systems operating inside a squirrel's mouth at the same time, because they behave nothing alike.

The cheek teeth are described as "anelodont," meaning they have fixed roots and stop growing once they've fully erupted. In younger squirrels these teeth handle grinding nuts and seeds efficiently, but over time they simply wear down. In aging squirrels, excessive wearing of the cheek teeth is a documented clinical finding. They don't overgrow or elongate the way incisors can, but they also don't regenerate when they're gone.

Why rodent teeth work this way: the biology behind continuous growth

The secret to how squirrel incisors stay sharp despite constant use comes down to where the enamel sits. Enamel, which is the hardest substance in any mammal's body, forms predominantly on the outer (labial) face of the incisor. The inner surface is softer dentin. Because the two materials wear at different rates, the dentin wears back faster, and this differential wear naturally creates and maintains a sharp chisel edge at the tip of the tooth. The squirrel doesn't need to sharpen its teeth; the gnawing process itself does it automatically.

Underneath all of this is the open pulp cavity that keeps the tooth erupting. Unlike a human tooth, which has a closed root and a fixed length, the squirrel's incisor has living tissue at its base continuously pushing the tooth outward. This is the same fundamental mechanism seen in other continuously growing teeth across the animal kingdom, though in squirrels and other sciuromorph rodents it's been refined over millions of years of evolutionary pressure toward hard-food diets.

What goes wrong when teeth break or overgrow

The growth-wear balance in a squirrel's incisors is precise, and when it breaks down, the consequences are serious and fast-moving. The most common problem is malocclusion, where the upper and lower incisors don't meet properly. In a healthy squirrel the two pairs of incisors grind against each other constantly, which controls their length. If one tooth breaks, the opposite tooth loses its grinding partner and has nothing to wear it down. That tooth then overgrows unchecked.

Overgrown incisors in squirrels can grow in an arc, eventually curling back toward or into the skull, jaw, or soft tissues of the mouth and face. This isn't a hypothetical worst case, radiographic documentation of this in wild squirrels exists, with teeth penetrating facial tissues and causing severe abscess formation. The Wildlife Center of Florida explicitly states that squirrels with permanent malocclusion should never be released into the wild, because they face either starvation or death from the teeth themselves. Malocclusion is not a cosmetic issue, it's a life-threatening condition for a squirrel.

A broken incisor that still has its growing base intact will typically grow back within weeks to a couple of months, but during that recovery window the animal is vulnerable. If the break causes misalignment, even temporarily, the other teeth can begin to overgrow before the broken one catches up. This is why a squirrel with even a single broken incisor warrants a real assessment, not just a "wait and see" approach.

Signs that a squirrel is in trouble with its teeth

If you're watching a squirrel or handling one you've found injured, these are the warning signs that point to a dental problem serious enough to need professional attention. Some of these signs are obvious, some are easy to miss.

• Visibly overgrown incisors, teeth that curl, cross, or extend well past the lips
• One incisor noticeably shorter or missing compared to its opposite
• Difficulty picking up or cracking food, dropping food repeatedly
• Drooling, with wet or matted fur around the mouth, chin, or chest
• Mouth sores, bleeding from the mouth, or a bloody muzzle while feeding
• Swelling or asymmetry on the face, especially around the jaw or cheeks
• Significant weight loss or visible thinning (prominent spine, hip bones)
• Lethargy or unusual tameness (a wild squirrel that lets you approach is often very sick)
• Loss of appetite or complete refusal to eat

Facial swelling combined with any of the feeding signs above should be treated as urgent. Dental abscesses develop quickly in rodents and can become systemic infections. By the time a wild squirrel is lethargic enough to be caught by hand, it has often already been declining for days and is in a worse state than it appears.

What you should do right now

If you've found a squirrel showing any of the signs above, the single most important thing you can do today is contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or a veterinarian who handles wildlife. Do not attempt to trim the teeth yourself. This is not a matter of being squeamish, it's a practical reality: improper trimming can fracture the tooth at the root, destroy the growing tissue, and turn a manageable problem into a permanent one. Some states also have regulations that restrict the public from treating or holding injured wildlife without the appropriate authority.

1. Use gloves or a thick towel to contain the squirrel if you need to handle it. Even a sick squirrel can bite hard enough to break skin.
2. Place the squirrel in a secure, ventilated box with a dark cloth or towel inside. Keep it warm but not hot, and away from pets and noise.
3. Do not feed it. Giving the wrong food, especially to an animal with dental or jaw injuries, can cause additional harm or death.
4. Search your state or province's wildlife agency website, or use the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) directory, to find a licensed rehabilitator near you.
5. Call before you show up. Most rehab centers have intake protocols and limited space, and a phone call will tell you exactly where to go and what to bring.
6. If no rehabilitator is immediately available, contact a local veterinary clinic and ask if they accept wildlife cases or can refer you to someone who does.

A squirrel with a minor broken incisor that is still eating and behaving normally may not need immediate intervention, but it still warrants a quick call to a rehabilitator for guidance. A squirrel that is lethargic, not eating, drooling, or has visible facial swelling needs help today, not tomorrow. The Minnesota DNR notes that by the time a wild animal can be caught by hand, it's often already suffering from starvation and secondary illness on top of its original injury. Time genuinely matters in these situations.

Squirrels compared to other animals on this question

It's worth putting squirrel dental biology in context, because the "do teeth grow back" question looks very different across species. If you're wondering the same question for other animals, see whether do sharks teeth grow back, since many species handle tooth loss differently. Rats, which are also rodents, share the same continuously erupting incisor system as squirrels, and the dental risks from malocclusion are similar. Horses have a different kind of continuously erupting tooth across more of their mouth, with their cheek teeth erupting slowly over decades rather than continuously from an open root. Because horses have a different type of tooth eruption than rodents, their teeth can continue to wear and erupt over time, rather than having the same continuously growing incisor pattern as squirrels horses have a different kind of continuously erupting tooth. Dogs, like humans, get one permanent set with no regrowth after adulthood. Sharks are the outlier that everyone points to: they replace teeth in waves throughout their lives from multiple rows, which is a completely different biological system from anything seen in mammals. Squirrels sit in the middle of this spectrum, with a remarkable continuous-growth ability limited to just the incisors, and no replacement ability for any tooth lost in adulthood.