Dental formation understanding is essential for diagnosis and treatment of dental diseases in all species, mainly dogs and cats. Many of the lesions in the dental structure are due to malformation during pregnancy or early life in the puppy. The tooth originates from the primary epithelial band, which will give rise to two laminas, the vestibular and the dental band. The vestibular lamina will develop into the soft tissues of the mouth, like the lips. The dental lamina will develop the tooth structure. These cells are derived from the ectoderm of the first pharyngeal arch and the ectomesenchyme of the neural crest.

The tooth germ is the term given to the first tooth structure in the embryo and is organized into the enamel organ, the dental papilla and the dental sac or follicle. This development was didactly divided into stages of formation, such as bud, cap, bell, crown, roots and eruption.

The enamel organ is composed of the outer enamel epithelium, inner enamel epithelium, stellate reticulum and stratum intermedium. From these cells originate the ameloblasts, which produce enamel and become a part of the reduced enamel epithelium after maturation of the enamel.

In the inner part of the dental germ, there is the dental papilla which contains cells that develop into odontoblasts, which are dentin-forming cells. The junction between the dental papilla and inner enamel epithelium will give the form of the crown. Mesenchymal cells within the dental papilla are responsible for formation of tooth pulp.

Around the tooth germ, there is the dental sac or follicle which will develop into three structures: cementoblasts, osteoblasts, and fibroblasts. Cementoblasts form the cementum of a tooth, which covers the roots. Osteoblasts give rise to the alveolar bone around the roots of teeth. Fibroblasts will give rise to the periodontal ligament which connect teeth to the alveolar bone through cementum.

During tooth formation, many alterations can occur, such as hypocalcification, hypoplasia, shape malformations, dens in dente, root malformation and endodontic lesions.