teeth grinding

Question
When I hug and pet my dwarf lionhead she grinds her teeth.  Would this be enough grinding her teeth to make hay unnecessary?

Answer
Dear Tom,

The tooth grinding you hear when you cuddle her is called "tooth purring", and it's a sign of contentment.  :)

It is not, however, a substitute for hay.  The motion of the teeth during tooth purring is completely different from that she uses when eating hay, which is a side-to-side, hard chewing motion that helps keep her teeth in normal shape, as long as her teeth have normal occlusion.

Hope that helps.

Dana