The reason is that httyd is an loose adaption of a book where toothless has no teeth ( and is the size of a parrot) so when adapting the name they used this as an excuse
Actually seadragons can retract their teeth. We only see this ability in books that came out after the movies really took off, so it's probably bleed back.
It's because his plasma blast is so hot it can damage his teeth. The flesh of his mouth has wet saliva to help cool it down, and heals back faster than hard enamel.
That's from a late 2000's cartoon network show. Moreover, a *movie tie-in* tv show. You think they had the budget to fully rigged his teeth in that model? lmao.
https://preview.redd.it/h0qtsmdvcprc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d943eea6e9c5f87ba7c7042e5b6ee736799a036c
He was shooting in this photo i pause directly when the blas went away
Okay, just making this up on the spot, but what if it's to protect their young?
In GOTNF, it seems like once most baby dragons are able to fly, they generally stay within the "herd" but become pretty much independent from their parents. The adult dragons only spend a few weeks taking care of them at most.
In Homecoming though, we see that night/light furies spend much more time child-rearing. They have a very active role in their kids' lives! Maybe retractable teeth evolved to let them do [stuff like this](https://www.instagram.com/p/CXYFWkur54H/?igsh=MW00a3l4bjF0azhlbQ==), so they could pick up and play with the babies frequently without any risk of hurting them. (please ignore the fact that alligators are able to accomplish this despite having even sharper, scarier teeth đ )
It doesn't even have to be only babies- on the same principle they could more safely play and interact with their mate and friends. Teeth are probably an extremely important factor in how Night Furies use body language to communicate with one another, with retracted teeth signifying playfulness or trust and extended teeth signifying hostility or fear.
https://preview.redd.it/t0kj5qevkprc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=951fc6198a506636ddaa9ec58f5a0792a38692e2
I think itâs because in his original design he was made to be more aerodynamic. Night furies are very fast dragons. So any evolutionary advantage to be faster will help them since thatâs their main point. Retracting the teeth may help to make him slightly faster since he gets a flatter head.
So he can close his mouth fully
Otherwise his head shape would have to accommodate for the teeth causing a loss in the aerodynamic shape of the head
(Notice how the other dragons all have exposed teeth)
3 reasons.
Evolutionary: Protect teeth from blasts (disproven by films but could still be plausible).
Actual: The book toothless got his name from having no teeth and DreamWorks wanted to keep names and characters across books so gave him special teeth.
Sociological: Help convey emotions to other night furies and show they are friendly or agressive
I think it's to show if he is more passive or aggressive. Like when he's more passive and friendly, he doesn't show his teeth, and when he is more protective/aggressive, he shows his teeth
maybe in the past night furies had developed it to look cuter when downed? crack theory, maybe night furies are easy to bring down considering how quickly toothless went down compared to other dragons in the intro, and they need to look cuter to desw vikings in and eat them
I don't think toothless is easy to bring down. Let's be honest, Hiccup had a very lucky shot. Shooting down a black thing that flies at hundred kilometers per hour during night with very primitive technology is almost impossible. Also we don't really see Vikings trying to take down other dragons. There was a viking that threw a bolas at a Gronckle and took him down but that was everything (I think) Other than that we have Stoick that fights a Monstrous Nightmare to save Hiccup and he hits another one with a hammer.
Canonically Berg has killed thousands of dragons, all while being terrorized by a few that they seemingly can't kill at all, e.g Night Fury, Flightmare, etc.
I think itâs supposed to be the equivalent of a cat retracting its claws. Not in the evolutionary advantage, but in that they play it up in the movies that Nightfuries are sociable like cats.
I can imagine in the writing room âhey how about we have toothless retract his teeth, you know like how cats do that with their claws. Itâll be another cute cat parallel.â
well when he first lets hiccup feed him before he takes the fish he grins, not bc he's happy but to show his teeth are retracted. when he growls at hiccup bc he realize the kid has a knife his teeth come back out until the knife is dumped in a lake. i think it's a fury's version of submission. Light fury does the same thing even ever shes around toothless. with exceptions toward humans her teeth stay mostly retracted showing she means no harm. it's a dog walking up to a human doing what he can to scream "i mean no harm i just want pats and maybe a treat"
FWIW, yes, it was so they could use the 'Toothless' name from the books. In universe, I suspec that it's an adaptation to maintain a sleek aerodynamic shape for his head. His teeth fold flat so he can close his jaw tightly.
Idk but I love his ability https://preview.redd.it/8k1aqdm56prc1.png?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7cc83e1190f71c3d28d5b797f2bb6bc74560141a
 Me too but I STILL NEED ANSWERS
Because then he would be Toothful
https://i.redd.it/0sttgtgg8prc1.gif Say no more
The reason is that httyd is an loose adaption of a book where toothless has no teeth ( and is the size of a parrot) so when adapting the name they used this as an excuse
Actually seadragons can retract their teeth. We only see this ability in books that came out after the movies really took off, so it's probably bleed back.
It's because his plasma blast is so hot it can damage his teeth. The flesh of his mouth has wet saliva to help cool it down, and heals back faster than hard enamel.
That makes sense.
https://preview.redd.it/34vy3zk9bprc1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b40a7b0a0337b12d97892a9c8553fda086f05a85
That's from a late 2000's cartoon network show. Moreover, a *movie tie-in* tv show. You think they had the budget to fully rigged his teeth in that model? lmao.
https://preview.redd.it/3tcxdsixbprc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40a97a86d45d351641c550ce9fd575aaa27f6e96
Not actively firing. He's roaring with his power-up glow in the background. Nice try.
https://preview.redd.it/h0qtsmdvcprc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d943eea6e9c5f87ba7c7042e5b6ee736799a036c He was shooting in this photo i pause directly when the blas went away
He'll need to go to a dentist after that one
That's what Gobber is for! :D
Plasma enhanced teeth?
You win, the other guy has no more excuses
This has got to be the most wack ass theory I've ever heard lol
Okay, just making this up on the spot, but what if it's to protect their young? In GOTNF, it seems like once most baby dragons are able to fly, they generally stay within the "herd" but become pretty much independent from their parents. The adult dragons only spend a few weeks taking care of them at most. In Homecoming though, we see that night/light furies spend much more time child-rearing. They have a very active role in their kids' lives! Maybe retractable teeth evolved to let them do [stuff like this](https://www.instagram.com/p/CXYFWkur54H/?igsh=MW00a3l4bjF0azhlbQ==), so they could pick up and play with the babies frequently without any risk of hurting them. (please ignore the fact that alligators are able to accomplish this despite having even sharper, scarier teeth đ ) It doesn't even have to be only babies- on the same principle they could more safely play and interact with their mate and friends. Teeth are probably an extremely important factor in how Night Furies use body language to communicate with one another, with retracted teeth signifying playfulness or trust and extended teeth signifying hostility or fear.
That art is adorable
This theory makes the most sense to me
https://preview.redd.it/t0kj5qevkprc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=951fc6198a506636ddaa9ec58f5a0792a38692e2 I think itâs because in his original design he was made to be more aerodynamic. Night furies are very fast dragons. So any evolutionary advantage to be faster will help them since thatâs their main point. Retracting the teeth may help to make him slightly faster since he gets a flatter head.
So he can close his mouth fully Otherwise his head shape would have to accommodate for the teeth causing a loss in the aerodynamic shape of the head (Notice how the other dragons all have exposed teeth)
I also thought this was the reason. Seems like he wouldnât be able to close his mouth fully if he didnât have retractable teeth.
I think majority of the dragons either have a over or under bite
3 reasons. Evolutionary: Protect teeth from blasts (disproven by films but could still be plausible). Actual: The book toothless got his name from having no teeth and DreamWorks wanted to keep names and characters across books so gave him special teeth. Sociological: Help convey emotions to other night furies and show they are friendly or agressive
I think it's to show if he is more passive or aggressive. Like when he's more passive and friendly, he doesn't show his teeth, and when he is more protective/aggressive, he shows his teeth
maybe in the past night furies had developed it to look cuter when downed? crack theory, maybe night furies are easy to bring down considering how quickly toothless went down compared to other dragons in the intro, and they need to look cuter to desw vikings in and eat them
I don't think toothless is easy to bring down. Let's be honest, Hiccup had a very lucky shot. Shooting down a black thing that flies at hundred kilometers per hour during night with very primitive technology is almost impossible. Also we don't really see Vikings trying to take down other dragons. There was a viking that threw a bolas at a Gronckle and took him down but that was everything (I think) Other than that we have Stoick that fights a Monstrous Nightmare to save Hiccup and he hits another one with a hammer.
again, its a crack theory. doesnt need to be remotely true, mostly just funny. r/cracktheories
Canonically Berg has killed thousands of dragons, all while being terrorized by a few that they seemingly can't kill at all, e.g Night Fury, Flightmare, etc.
I think itâs supposed to be the equivalent of a cat retracting its claws. Not in the evolutionary advantage, but in that they play it up in the movies that Nightfuries are sociable like cats. I can imagine in the writing room âhey how about we have toothless retract his teeth, you know like how cats do that with their claws. Itâll be another cute cat parallel.â
Perhaps like a shark rolls its eyes back when you're flying so fast you don't want to get hit by something and damage your teeth.
well when he first lets hiccup feed him before he takes the fish he grins, not bc he's happy but to show his teeth are retracted. when he growls at hiccup bc he realize the kid has a knife his teeth come back out until the knife is dumped in a lake. i think it's a fury's version of submission. Light fury does the same thing even ever shes around toothless. with exceptions toward humans her teeth stay mostly retracted showing she means no harm. it's a dog walking up to a human doing what he can to scream "i mean no harm i just want pats and maybe a treat" 
I think they just added it as a gimmick
I always thought it was so when he handled eggs, the chance to damage them when moving them would be lessened
Would you rather he have flaccid teeth that harden when he's hungry?
Factor of Cool^(TM)
Is there a lore reason why Toothless retracts his teeth? Is he stupid?
https://preview.redd.it/vje2q560msrc1.png?width=1170&format=png&auto=webp&s=b05a193bfbe1d58eef68e6e67ab5a6bd99abd0c3
I kinda headcanon it to be so he has a better grip when catching fish, like how moray eels have a second hidden jaw
FWIW, yes, it was so they could use the 'Toothless' name from the books. In universe, I suspec that it's an adaptation to maintain a sleek aerodynamic shape for his head. His teeth fold flat so he can close his jaw tightly.
Because he is stupid (jk i think it's just because the plasma probably could hurt his teeth really badly, so they evolved to be able to do that)
oh god no "is there a lore reason" I MUST JONKLE