pot belly pig teeth

Question
I am writing because i was wonder about the front teeth on pot belly pigs.i have seen photos of some pigs with overgrown front teeth which made me wondering if all pigs get over grown front teeth or not. I know that males have the tusk teeth on the side that grow most of the time.if all pigs teeth over grow how can you shorten them.I asked this question for future reference for my 4 month old pot belly... thank you jenn

Answer
Most pot-bellied pigs have some under bite. When the jaw is closed, the lower teeth over lap the upper teeth in front. The degree of under bite and length of the lower front teeth is determined by genetics.

In other words, a pig whose parents have long lower front teeth and a severe under bite are highly likely to have the same kind of teeth. A pig whose parents had smaller lower front teeth are highly likely to have straighter, shorter lower front teeth.

Females have smaller teeth in general. If a male and female pig both have the same parents, chances are the female will have slightly smaller, straighter teeth than the male. But, the bigger factor is the parents teeth. A male whose parents have a minimal under bite can have less under bite than a female whose parents had severe under bite.

The best way to know what a baby pot-bellied pig will look like at maturity is to see the parents at maturity. Pigs reach adulthood at about age 2. A parent piggy who is younger than age 2 is not yet an adult.

Teeth and tusks look similar but are very different. Teeth are much like human teeth. In cases of severe under bite, the lower teeth are usually blunted simply by being used. They can not be cut. Tusks, on the other hand, are actually ivory and grow throughout the pigs life. Nature intended tusks to be used as defensive weapons, so they can be blunted and cut.

Pigs have three sets of teeth in their life. They are often born with a few of the first set of teeth, which they loose by the time they are about 3 months old. The last of the adult teeth come in when the pig is about 2 to 2-1/2 years old.