Routine teeth clipping of newborn piglets causes acute pain and is increasingly questioned as an unnecessary procedure when alternatives manage the underlying problem.
Teeth clipping welfare reform challenges the assumption that routine intervention is always safer than management change. Evidence that teeth cause fewer problems than assumed, combined with the demonstrated acute pain of clipping, supports reducing the procedure in favor of management alternatives. Shifting the default from 'clip routinely' to 'clip only when necessary with analgesia' represents achievable welfare improvement.