Ranked: Dinosaurs by Tooth Count
| Rank | Dinosaur | Tooth Count | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | Hadrosaurs (e.g. Edmontosaurus) | Up to 1,000 | Grinding battery |
| 🥈 2 | Nigersaurus | 500+ | Cropping rows |
| 🥉 3 | Triceratops | 400–800 | Shearing battery |
| 4 | Iguanodon | ~100 | Grinding cheek teeth |
| 5 | Velociraptor | ~80 | Serrated, curved |
| 6 | T-Rex | ~60 | Large serrated blades |
| 7 | Spinosaurus | ~60 | Conical gripping |
| 8 | Apatosaurus | ~56 | Peg/chisel |
| 9 | Allosaurus | ~32 | Serrated blades |
| 10 | Ornithomimus | 0 | Toothless beak |
Why Nigersaurus Is Famous for 500 Teeth
Although hadrosaurs technically had more teeth, Nigersaurus became the internet's most-searched dinosaur tooth fact because its tooth arrangement is so visually striking. The entire front of its skull was lined with tiny teeth in neat rows — visible and dramatic in fossil reconstructions. The question "what dinosaur has 500 teeth?" went viral online and Nigersaurus became the answer everyone learned.
How Are Dinosaur Teeth Counted?
Counting dinosaur teeth is more complicated than it sounds. There are two ways to count:
- Active teeth only: Only teeth that were currently in use at any one time.
- Total teeth including replacements: All teeth in the jaw including the replacement columns stacked beneath each active tooth.
Nigersaurus had about 68 columns of teeth, each with up to 9 replacement teeth stacked behind the active one — giving a total of over 500 when all replacements are included. This is the figure most commonly cited.
Toothless Dinosaurs
At the opposite extreme, several dinosaur groups evolved to be completely toothless. Ornithomimids, oviraptorids, and some other species had beaked mouths with no teeth at all — similar to modern birds. Their toothlessness was actually an evolutionary advantage for processing certain types of food more efficiently.