Head 4

The Scottie's teeth are an important part of his fighting gear. It is essential that they be strikingly large for the size of the dog. It has been said that the Scottie has the largest teeth of all terriers, except the Airedale.

scissorslevel.jpg (6271 bytes)

The standard gives preference to a scissors bite (left) but allows the level bite (right). For judges, that says that you may put up a dog with a scissors bite over a dog with a level bite ONLY when all other things are equal. The same applies to the question of missing teeth. It is not your job to impose a personal abhorrence of imperfect bites where the standard does not require it.

Breeders, however, should be striving for full dentition and scissors bites. Clearly, a dog with fewer teeth is inferior in biting power to a dog with all its teeth. As for the level bite, veterinary dentists agree that the level bite is, from a health standpoint, the worst possible bite for a dog. It causes the most wear on the teeth and the most damage to gum tissue. In fact, acceptance of the level bite in the American breed standard was based on a misunderstanding of the term "level." According to a letter from A. G. Cowley (Albourne), when the English asked for a level mouth, they were talking about incisors that formed a straight line, perpendicular to the side teeth. The Americans used "level" to describe the position of the upper and lower incisors in relation to one another.

lowerjaw.jpg (3160 bytes)

As breeders seek longer heads, they must guard against the tendency for the arch of the jaw to become increasingly narrow (above right), causing the teeth to become crowded. Ideally, the lower incisors should lie in a straight line, or with just a slight curve (above left).