The thylacine's dental formula is I1-4/1-3, C1/1, P1-3/1-3, M1-4/1-4 = 46 (Thomas 1888).  The jaws are long, and the teeth of moderate size.  In contrast to some of the more specialized dasyurids, in which the tooth row has undergone a shortening, that of Thylacinus is elongate.  The last upper incisor is nearly twice as large as the others.  The premolars are narrow and gradually increase in size posteriorly, each separated from the other by broad diastemata (tooth gaps).  Characteristics of the adult dentition are described by Archer (1976c).

. The thylacine's upper incisors.  In carnivorous species such as the thylacine, their primary function is that of stripping meat, but as is the case with many other mammals, they may also be of importance in grooming the animal's coat.

     A deciduous premolar in a very young female with a head-body length of just 23 cm (9 in.) and a head length of 7.35 cm (2.9 in.) was described by Flower (1876).  There were no teeth visible above the surface of the gums, but in the upper jaw the crowns of four developing incisors were calcified, as were the apices of the crowns of the canine, premolars, and the first two molars.  The lower jaw was developing correspondingly.  The only trace of teeth visible from the outside was a bulge in the gum which  contained a deciduous premolar, 2½ mm long, pointed and triangular, yet solid and white, in contrast to the brown rudiments of the secondary (permanent) teeth.  It was just 26-30% of the size of the last secondary premolar.
 

. The upper molars of the thylacine, which like those of dasyurids are adapted to slicing and crushing.

The molars of the thylacine are adapted to slicing and crushing.  The protocone of the upper molars is reduced, bearing a slightly trenchant posterior edge, and the metacone is quite enlarged, which creates a long slicing edge.  External stylar cusps are virtually absent in Thylacinus, unlike in dasyurids.  There is no metaconid in the lower molars.  The cutting edge passes from the paraconid, through the protoconid, to the hypoconid, which leaves a reasonably well-developed, shelf-like entoconid-hypoconid talonid (Bensley 1903).  As Ride (1964) describes, this condition contrasts with that of dasyurids, in which there is a large metaconid.