Adult llamas and alpacas normally have three pairs of front teeth or incisors, located on the lower jaw. The intact male has three pairs of fighting teeth, two upper pairs and one lower pair. In the female, the fighting teeth are usually rudimentary. Males gelded at a young age also tend to have small fighting teeth. They have one to two pairs of premolars on the upper and lower jaw, and three pairs of molars on the upper and lower jaw. The premolars and molars are the grinding teeth towards the back of the mouth. They are normally sharp and should not be confused with "points" or abnormally sharp edges.
The fighting teeth erupt at 2 to 7 years, 2 with average being 2-1/2 years. The fighting teeth are very large and pointed in the adult male. They can be used as harmful weapons against others of their kind or people. For safety reasons, the fighting teeth should be removed or filed off in the male.
