Donkeys will start to shed their temporary milk teeth between the age of 2 and 5 years, subsequently the permanent teeth erupt continually and are worn at the chewing surface during eating.

If you watch the donkeys eating you can see that their jaws move predominantly sideways, the chewing surfaces grind fibre until it is small enough for them to swallow. The upper jaw is wider than the lower, which when combined with a sideways chewing stroke and an angled chewing surface; leave the teeth with sharp edges. Sharp edges are a natural occurrence however; the grass and feeds available in the UK are far, far softer than those found in the countries where donkeys originated and hence there is less wear placed upon the teeth and they can become exceptionally sharp. The sharp edges can cut into the donkey’s cheek making it painful for them to eat. The teeth of the donkey are always checked at the first sign of inappetance or weight loss.

Some of our older donkeys' teeth can become loose and fall out. This causes more problems as the opposing tooth then has nothing to grind against so again the dentist has to make the necessary adjustments. Gaps between the teeth caused by old age, overgrowths, or gum disease in addition to cavities also cause problems so our older donkeys have more regular dentistry.

Although they can generally manage to eat some grass; any donkeys with poor dentition are given a specially formulated diet of chopped fibre with added herbs, vitamins and minerals. This is because they cannot sufficiently grind the longer, coarser barley straw and haylage that the healthy donkeys munch up quite easily. All their weights and body condition scores are monitored monthly and any fluctuations are identified and investigated so that appropriate steps can be taken. Weight loss can be an indication of dental problems.

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